Natsu Dragneel : Wise Fairy
by furaiz
Summary: A different Natsu Dragneel. Find out how this seemingly more mature and secretive Natsu Dragneel changes everything you thought you knew, and learn more about his true past and how it has affected him. Will cover all Arcs, including anime exclusives.(Slight AU)(CURRENT : Lullaby Arc)
1. A Fated Encounter

**Chapter One : A Fated Encounter**

* * *

"Eeeh!?, there's only one magic store in this town?" Lucy exclaimed. She had been searching around for my Spirit Keys to add to her collection, for she was a Celestial Mage, who used spirits to do her bidding in battle …and other unmentionable things. (Haircuts guys, keep your hair on)

"I'm afraid so, yes. Only about 10% of the people in this town can actually use magic, so it's hard to find anything magical here. But please, I'm sure there are things you might be interested in here! Please spend some jewels in this poor old man's store!" The shopkeeper stared at Lucy with quivering lips and some of the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

"GAH!" cried Lucy. She couldn't resist the man's tearful expression and coughed up a few thousand jewels for a silver spirit key. "Maybe it won't be a total waste…" she murmured.

Outside in the central plaza of town, a group of women were crowding around. From where Lucy was now standing, she could only make out the name 'Salamander' being called out by various blushing women.

'Salamander?' she thought to herself. 'Isn't that a famous wizard from Fairy Tail? Oh wait, I know it is! This is my chance to get into Fairy Tail!' Grinning madly, she hurried over to the crowd to see the famous Salamander for herself.

"Please ladies," he said, "one at a time!" A tall man with purple hair was standing there wearing a black cloak, and a gleaming smile. He looked rather handsome, with a rather trim body, and some semblance of muscle was evident.

All of a sudden, Lucy felt her heartbeat go through the roof, and a blush appeared on her face. 'What's happening to me? Why am I feeling this way?'

This strange feeling suddenly disappeared, as a man with a midnight black cloak and hood forced his way through the crowd.

"Who are you!?" Salamander exclaimed. "You're awfully rude!"

The cloaked man then spoke in a low tone, "I should be asking you that question, actually. Am I right Bora? Pretending to be the Salamander, and tricking women with your illegal magic charms… I seem to remember you were kicked out of your old guild for stunts like this…"

A sudden hush came over the crowd, as they suddenly processed the fact they were under some sort of magic spell. Their new found knowledge of the situation rendered the charm useless.

The colour drained from Bora's face as he realised the game was up.

"B-but, h-how…?" he stuttered.

"As for your friends on the slave ship… They've been dealt with. You have no one left to help you now." said the cloaked man.

"GYAAAH!" Bora cried. "I'm going to kill you dammit!"

A magic seal formed in front of his hand, and a strong jet of purple fire flew at the man standing before him.

"WATCH OUT!" Lucy screamed, although her shout would do nothing to help the cloaked man.

Her fears were for naught though, as the man simply raised his hand and swiped the fire away, before charging at Bora and slamming his fist into his solar plexus. Bora was thrown back into a wall by the force of the blow, and landed on the floor in a heap, completely unconscious.

"I'll leave his punishment up to you ladies." The man said, as he turned around and walked back the way he came.

Lucy momentarily stood there, gaping at the overwhelming strength of the cloaked man before she gathered her senses again, and ran after him.

"Wait!" Lucy shouted, whilst running after the man.

He stopped for a moment, and then turned around to speak to her.

"Yes? What do you want?" he questioned.

"I just need some directions! I was sure you might know, seeing how tough you are." She mumbled the last part to avoid unnecessary implications. 'It's not like I need a bodyguard' she thought to herself.

"Directions to where?" he pressed her for further information.

"I'm looking for the guild called Fairy Tail. I thought Salamander could help me, but it seems that was a big fake." said Lucy.

"I see. That shouldn't be a problem; I'm heading back there now. You can follow me if you want, or I can give you the directions for whenever you're going." he replied.

"Oh great! I'll come along with you then!" she proclaimed.

"I see. "He said. "And who am I going to be taking there?" he inquired, a slightly unorthodox way of asking the blonde lady talking to him for her name.

"Oh! It's L-Lucy." she stammered. "And you?"

"My name is Natsu." he answered.

And with that, he started walking to the train station.

"Hey don't forget me!" Lucy exclaimed, as she ran to catch up with the mysterious man called Natsu.

* * *

**In this fanfic, the story arcs both portrayed in the anime and manga will be included with changes of course. Natsu will have a rather different personality as well, as seen currently. Happy won't be his sidekick either, but he will exist within Fairy Tail. **

**An occasional OC might pop up from time to time. There will also be Flashback parts which will flesh out my version of Natsu in a good way hopefully(non-intrusive flashbacks hopefully).**

**I estimate to try and get 700+ words a chapter, and hoping for at least 1000 a chapter on a consistent basis. Regular updates for a while, since I don't have a completely original story arc to build yet. Please review as you see fit, I'll take constructive criticism and other comments as such. I still have to find a completely suitable writing style, but it seems okay so far. **

**Well, that's almost all of it. I'm not sure whether I will be doing a romantic relationship at any point, but I think I may imply it from time to time to keep interest. It may not quite be what you expect either, but don't bite my head off for it. **

**Thanks for reading, please look forward to more!**


	2. Welcome to Fairy Tail!

**Chapter Two : Welcome to Fairy Tail!**

* * *

"Wow! Its huge!" exclaimed Lucy

In front of her was the Fairy Tail Guild. A large sign was above the entrance with an illustration of a fairy on either side, and the title of the guild in big red letters had been lovingly painted on to read 'FAIRY TAIL'.

Taking the initiative, Natsu stepped in front of her, still wearing his midnight black cloak with hood, with only his soft black eyes peering out of its depths, and pushed the two giant doors open, revealing a scene she would never forget.

Wizards of all kinds were sitting around at tables laughing and chattering with each other, others were looking at giant wooden board with what seemed to be notices pinned all over it.

"Lisanna-chan! More beers over here pleaaase!" yelled someone in the crowd of wizards.

A young girl with short white hair and bright blue eyes was serving drinks with a smile on her face.

"Coming right up!" she sang out as she weaved her way through the room.

Taking the lead, Natsu walked in through the doors. A chill crept down Lucy's spine as a sudden magical pressure was exerted, effectively silencing the guild.

"Natsu…" many of the members murmured and nodded to him as a sign of respect.

"I need Mira to take care of Lucy here. Please pass on the message." he stated whilst pointing to the blonde wizard beside him.

And with that, he walked up the stairs on the right side of the guild hall, and out of sight. Finally, the magical pressure was lifted, and the guild members started up their conversations again.

Lucy shivered. 'Just how tough is that guy? He silenced the whole hall just by walking in!'

"Welcome to Fairy Tail! I see Natsu brought you here?" the white haired Lisanna questioned Lucy.

"Y-Yes." She stuttered.

"Are you joining the guild? I ask because Natsu requested for my sister Mira to deal with you." asked Lisanna.

"Hopefully!" smiled Lucy. "I'm looking forward to joining, the guild seems really fun!"

"Yay!" cheered Lisanna. "You'll love it here, I'm sure! I'll take you to my sister Mira to get you initiated!"

Lisanna suddenly grabbed Lucy's hand with an iron grip and ran towards the bar, dragging Lucy with her squealing at the sudden change of speed. A long white haired woman with large blue eyes and a cheerful smile was working at the bar and pouring drinks to be served.

"Onee-san! I have a girl here who wants to join Fairy Tail!"

"You do?" asked Mira. "That's great! Let me go grab the seal." She said, as she collected a Fairy Tail guild stamp from the nearby store-room.

"So, what's your name?" she asked.

"Natsu called her Lucy, onee-san" interjected Lisanna.

"Natsu did? It's rare that he brings anyone with him, he doesn't seem to interact with many guild members at all you know." she chipped in. "In any case, if Natsu was willing to bring you along, you must have some potential as a wizard" she continued, "What sort of wizard are you Lucy?"

"I'm a Celestial Spirit Wizard." replied Lucy.

"I see. We don't see many of those around here." Mira explained, "Well, Fairy Tail is always looking for new members, Master would be happy to have you here as well. Okay! What colour emblem do you want and where do you want it Lucy?"

"Can I get a pink one on my left hand Mira?" asked Lucy.

"Here you go!" exclaimed Mira, as she stamped the guild seal onto Lucy's hand. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

"Hey! Natsu's back?" called out a half-naked guy who had just walked in through the guild doors. He had spiky black hair, dark blue eyes, and a dark blue fairy tail guild seal on his right pectoral. His muscular body was quite toned, but the effect of it was rather diminished due to the fact he was walking around in his underwear.

"Gray, have you been walking around like that?" asked a brown haired woman.

"AH SHIT!" exclaimed Gray.

"Come back after you're dressed, idiot." She said. Then afterwards she grabbed a giant barrel of beer, and began chugging it down.

Lucy stared at the scene in shock, with her mouth half open. 'W-What… What's wrong with these people?' she cried in her head.

"Ah don't worry about it Lucy. Those two are always like that. Gray seems to have a stripping fetish, while Cana over there drinks barrels of the stuff every day. It's pretty normal." explained Mira.

"N-normal?" stuttered Lucy. 'We have a different definition of normal…' she thought to herself.

Lucy watched as the guild descended into chaos. Gray had started fighting with Cana, before several other people got hit during the conflict, and it had escalated into a full brawl, with tables, chairs and bodies flying everywhere. Everyone was screaming and shouting, she could even see someone yelling 'MAN!' with every punch he threw.

"U-uh, shouldn't we be stopping this?" stuttered Lucy.

"Don't worry about it!" Mira reiterated.

Finally, the brawl got even more violent, as several people started to use magic. 'This building is going to come down if this carries on!' Lucy thought to herself.

"This is getting a little too intense." said Mira, as she sweat dropped.

Suddenly though there was a loud rumble.

"CUT IT OUT YOU FOOLS!" roared a humongous giant with glowing eyes.

Immediately, everybody in the guild stopped in their tracks.

Lucy trembled at the sight of the monstrous being in the middle of the guild hall.

Several people in the guild started grumbling and complaining about cutting their battle short. It seemed like everyone hated losing, or at least not finishing a fight.

"My… Master you were here?" asked Mira.

"M-Master!?" exclaimed Lucy. "That monster!?"

She started quivering even more when the giant monster looked her straight in the eye. 'Oh god, please don't let my life end here!' she pleaded in her mind, as she stared at the beast.

**Fsssssh!**

A sharp hissing sound was let out, as it seemed the monster started deflating and shrinking, before a small old man was seen standing in front of her. He was partially bald, and had a big white moustache. He was quite a lot smaller than Lucy, which made her let out a sigh of relief, realising that it wasn't a giant monster that was going to eat her whole.

"A newcomer?" he said.

"My name is Makarov, and I am the master of Fairy Tail. Nice to meet you blondie!" he proclaimed with a big smile.

"Nice to meet you too!" she replied.

"Master." Mira interjected. "Natsu brought her here with him."

"Did he?" said Makarov. His expression immediately became quite serious, as he pondered.

"What's the deal with Natsu anyway?" asked Lucy.

"Ah…" said Makarov. "Well…"

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Sorry, but got to end the chapter here. I want to get Natsu's background to be one chapter in of itself. **

**That'll cover a fair bit on his differing personality and older actions. Thanks for reading, I'm going to try and write out the next chapter today as well. Lisanna is also alive in my version...**

**Please leave a review if you liked it or not, any feedback or even suggestions are welcome! Until next time!**


	3. An Unexpected Meeting

_**Previously...**_

"My name is Makarov, and I am the master of Fairy Tail. Nice to meet you blondie!" he proclaimed with a big smile.

"Nice to meet you too!" she replied.

"Master." Mira interjected. "Natsu brought her here with him."

"Did he?" said Makarov. His expression immediately became quite serious, as he pondered.

"What's the deal with Natsu anyway?" asked Lucy.

"Ah…" said Makarov. "Well…"

* * *

**Chapter Three : An Unexpected Meeting**

Makarov sighed as he walked through the bustling streets of Magnolia. The town was a lively and fun place, but at the Fairy Tail guild, things were far more boisterous. 'These youngsters will ruin me!' he cried in his head. Again, he sighed in exasperation.

It hadn't been long since a youngster called Erza had arrived. She was unusual for a young girl. Makarov was impressed with her willpower and determination and agreed to her request to join readily. She showed great skill with magic, for one so young. He was sure she'd grow to be a superb Fairy Tail wizard one day. She, and another youngster called Gray, an Ice-Make wizard, squabbled from time to time, but it was always Erza who ended up winning these 'little' fights.

He had also met the Strauss siblings one day, and offered them a home, after they had lost their parents. The three of them were take-over wizards; they used their magic power to capture animal souls, amongst other kinds, to use in battle. Mirajane, the eldest sister, was the most skilful of the three, and had seemed to mark Erza as her rival. They fought daily, often causing a lot of destruction. Elfman and Lisanna were a lot more level headed than their older sister, although Elfman showed some strange assumptions on what a 'MAN!' does.(Sadly, this only got worse)

He let them fight though, as he knew it would only drive them to be stronger. Although he wished the furniture bills were cheaper, and on more than one occasion, he despaired at the thought of them fighting in the future, they might end up destroying the entire building.

However, today was the day he met Natsu Dragneel.

While walking the streets of Magnolia, he came across a boy with spiky pink hair and onyx eyes. He seemed rather distant and sad. This caught Makarov's attention, as he decided to talk to the boy.

"Child, where are you parents?" he asked.

"Don't have any." the boy replied glumly.

Makarov frowned. "Do you have anyone that's worried about you? You should be with them."

"Nope. I'm by myself" he replied. At this point, he clenched his hands and said, "I lost someone though. I've been trying to find him for weeks."

"So you have no one to help you?" asked Makarov.

The boy nodded, "I'm not sure anyone could help me find him."

At this, Makarov chuckled. "All you need are some friends who can help you find this person then. Maybe I could help you."

The boy narrowed his eyes, before replying. "I'm not looking for a person. I'm looking for a dragon."

Makarov's eyes widened in surprise. "A dragon? Why are you looking for a dragon?"

"Huh? You're the first person who didn't laugh at that. Do you believe me?" he questioned.

"You seem sincere about this. Why wouldn't I believe you?" Makarov replied.

"Because you're an old man?" the boy chuckled.

"Why you little…" bristled Makarov. "I'm not that old! And you still haven't answered my question!"

"I was raised by the Fire Dragon Igneel. He taught me all he knew, and even magic." the boy proclaimed.

"Well, that's certainly interesting! How are you going to find him?" Makarov asked.

At this, the boy suddenly froze, and looked down sadly. "I-I don't know. I've been searching everywhere but I still can't find him!"

"Then, like I said before, maybe you need some friends that could help you find the one you are searching for." Makarov stated. "My name is Makarov Dreyar, and I am the guild leader of a guild called Fairy Tail. It's full of strong wizards, and you need to get stronger to find something such as a dragon. You should come with me. Together, we can find this dragon you seek!"

"Really!?" the boy exclaimed. His face lit up, and he smiled happily. "Lead the way gramps!"

"GRAMPS!?" exclaimed Makarov. "Ack, whatever…"

He then took the boy's hand and led him up the hill through the winding roads of Magnolia, to the guild house.

"By the way, I never asked for your name child. What is it?" he asked.

"Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

**Aaaaand that's a wrap for this part(shorter than what I would have liked but I'll make up for it when you get into the real action). The next part will cover early years of him in the guild, including some... events that occurred during them. There's going to be some difference of course, I have to cover the bit about the Strauss's differently, and the change in Natsu. He's in character when younger, but the older one has changed of course. **

**I should get it written tomorrow. (Maybe two chapters if you're lucky) **

**As always, be patient, please review at your leisure, and until next time, have fun!**


	4. Karyū no Hōkō

**Chapter Four : Karyū no Hōkō**

* * *

Lisanna sighed exasperatedly. _They're fighting again? They've got to get tired of this at some point._ She thought to herself, while watching Mira and Erza snarling at each other, before charging each other and throwing insults. Elfman was playing cards with Cana, another young girl who had joined the guild after her mother passed away. Yet again, Gray was walking around in his underwear, and generally freaking out trying to find his clothes. Gildarts was sat at the bar grinning while watching the rampaging Erza and Mira. _He really should stop them from time to time…_

The master had left a few hours ago, to 'run some errands', although Lisanna definitely thought he'd had enough of the fighting duo for a while_. I wish he was back already; I can't ever get Mira to stop fighting. Hmph. _

All of a sudden, the Master's booming voice sounded out throughout the guild.

"All right you brats, listen up! We have a new member joining today." He motioned next to him, and there stood a young boy about her age, with spiky pink hair and onyx eyes. He also seemed to be wearing an unusual white scarf. He glanced around, looking fairly nervous, before giving a nervous smile and a small wave. "His name is Natsu. Give him a warm welcome and make him feel at home."

Natsu looked around warily, unsure of what to do. _ I should go say hi to him_, Lisanna thought. This thought however, was interrupted by Erza talking. "Master, what magic does he use? You haven't mentioned it."

"Aah, well I don't know." He chuckled. "Maybe you should ask him yourself. Get to know him a bit."

"I could show you part of it… I-If you want me to." Natsu interjected.

"A demonstration? Go for it kid!" shouted Gildarts.

"I… might end up destroying something. Is it ok to do it here?" he asked.

"Sure." said Makarov. "Gildarts, can you be the target? You can stop the damage if you put your mind to it."

"Not sure I'll need to, but ok." he grinned.

At this, Natsu grinned toothily. _Well. I hope he can handle the heat._

"If you don't mind being the target… I won't hold back."

Gildarts chuckled. _This kid's got some confidence. I wonder if he can show me something special._

The guild was silent, and everyone was watching intently, about to see what kind of magic Natsu had to offer.

"Here goes nothing!" he cried.

He took a deep breath, sucking in air, before yelling "**_Fire Dragon's Roar!_**" A massive plume of fire erupted from his mouth. Gildarts eyes widened at the force of the attack as he attempted to block it. The deluge engulfed him. Everyone gasped in shock at the sheer force the attack held within it.

When the blaze cleared, everyone was stunned. Makarov's jaw hit the floor, as he saw the carnage in front of him. Tables and chairs were torn apart by the force from the attack, while everything in its path was ashes. And pushed back several feet, was Gildarts grinning, "Damn… That was unexpected. I never expected this kid to be able to do anything to me."

He suddenly frowned after looking at the aftermath and then started laughing. "You've done it again Master Makarov! Another furniture destroying kid… He'll fit in superbly!"

Makarov started crying pitifully, as he realised just how much trouble he'd got himself in. "Why does this always happen to me?"

However, Natsu was lying down flat on his back, gasping for air. "Whew. I gave that everything I had. I can barely move!" He barely noticed a white haired girl with blue eyes standing over him, and looking down at him with a smile on her face.

Lisanna giggled. "Aw, did you overdo it? From the way you look right now, I'd say you won't be getting up anytime soon…"

Natsu wheezed, "Probably not." He then looked up at her with a big toothy grin. "What's your name?"

"I'm Lisanna. Nice to meet you Natsu!" she replied.

"Nice to meet you too Lisanna. I think I'm getting a bit of feeling back now. Feels pretty sore." He groaned, then managed to prop himself back up on his knees.

Finally, everyone started recovering from the shock of seeing Gildarts pushed back by an attack. It was seemingly impossible, even for some of the most powerful wizards in the guild, to force Gildarts back with an attack. He was well known for beating opponents without moving a single step, with his powerful Crash magic.

They then turned to look at the boy that did it.

"W-w-what are you all staring at?" he stuttered nervously.

"Obviously you, flame-brain!" shouted the half-naked Gray.

"Why you…" Natsu growled. Then flopped back with a groan. "Too much effort. Going to sleep now."

And with that, everyone shouted "EH!?" as the boy called Natsu promptly fell asleep.

Lisanna giggled again. "Looks like you'll have to wait to introduce yourselves. I don't think he'll be waking up anytime soon."

Then Gildarts chuckled again, drawing everyone's attention. "Things are going to get a lot more lively around here. That kid's going to be pretty interesting."

Meanwhile, Erza and Mira were looking at each other with killing intent. Simultaneously they thought, _New Rival_.

Gray then yelled out. "We still don't know what magic flame-brain uses!"

Cana rolled her eyes. "It's obviously something to do with _fire_, you idiot."

Gildarts then picked Natsu up, and carried him into a room at the side of the guild hall. "He'll have to sleep it off somewhere. Talk to the kid when he gets up."

And all the while, Natsu slept peacefully, as the guild descended into more chaos, while Makarov held his head in his hands, muttering and cursing the cost of more furniture…

* * *

**Day one of Natsu in Fairy Tail. Hasn't even got the guild seal yet, and already causing some sort of trouble. Fair bit of Lisanna in this chapter, as well as Gildarts. Introducing Lisanna to Natsu is important to storyline anyway(Gildarts also has more of a role, but not often as an active character). Natsu is pretty boisterous still, and loves a challenge, we still haven't reached his change in character until next time. (He's also a lot tougher than normal natsu, but you won't get to see it too often, or it might get broken) You might be able to guess what comes next…**

**Also. A few questions to anyone enjoying this fanfic so far. I'm sorely tempted to separate Mystogan from being the Edolas counterpart of Jellal. This is because he's an awesome character, and I'd like him to stick around(I could find a few things to include him in). That said, I think a temporary OC replacement for the Edolas arc would be a good idea, and wouldn't ruin things(Plus it would let me keep Mystogan around!) Leave me your thoughts on that.**

**Also, there's no definite romance. You can suggest some pairings for Natsu if you ****_really_**** want to, but if its not a big issue, I won't directly have that relationship. I can allude to it though.**

**Next part or two is still set in the past before meeting Lucy - It's a miniature arc that doesn't actually exist in canon, but will establish the different Natsu as a whole, as well as background into one or two characters.**


	5. A Dragon Slayer

**Chapter Five : A Dragon Slayer**

* * *

It was morning in Magnolia. The sun shined through the windows of the Fairy Tail guild house, as members came and went, picking up quests, or catching up with friends. The big topic today was the new guild member Natsu Dragneel. Many of the older members were surprised to hear about his demonstration of power. Although he had yet to meet most of them, after learning about his Flame Dragon's Roar, several people had already started seeing him as a potentially powerful Fairy Tail wizard in the future.

Other people such as Laxus Dreyar, the fairly arrogant lightning wizard, and grandson to guild master Makarov were understandably less impressed. Or to put it a different way, obviously jealous.

Meanwhile, a certain Natsu Dragneel was waking up, after sleeping off the after-effects of his over exuberance.

_Huh… Where am I?_

He sat up on a bed, and looked out the window to see the winding streets down the hill of Magnolia. It was a very good view, and he was captivated by it.

_Looks nice from here._

"You're awake I see."

"Uwaah!" yelled Natsu. He had not noticed Makarov walk into the room.

_He's pretty small, of course it's hard for me to notice… tch._

Natsu finally caught his breath, but not before he had fallen off the bed in surprise.

"You're one interesting child, you know. I don't often see kids with as much latent magical power as you appear to possess. A word of advice though. Using up all your strength for one attack, like you did yesterday, is quite dangerous. I assume you know how to control it, so you shouldn't ever do something like again. But it was quite amusing to see everyone's reaction to that." Makarov chuckled.

"Haha, yeah I never do that. I just wanted to make a… uh… good impression, so I gave it my all." stated Natsu. "I never thanked you for helping me the other day. If I get stronger, maybe I'll be able to find Igneel someday. Thanks gramps."

"Well. I have no doubt you'll go a long way. You'll get there someday. Now… Since you lost a whole day due to your 'nap', it's probably time you go and get to know everybody." said Makarov.

Several minutes later, Natsu was finally ready to get going. _I guess I should go now. Can't stay here forever._

As he walked into the guild hall, someone called for him. "Over here Natsu! Come meet everyone."

It was Lisanna, who was smiling and waving at him. There were various other people around her, a scarlet haired girl wearing armour, _I wonder why she's wearing that…_, a seemingly taller version of Lisanna, although she seemed to have a bit more attitude, and a devious smile. Also present, the yet again half naked boy, _What's with him?_, an older brown haired girl with a pack of cards, and a broad shouldered boy with white hair, _Might be related to Lisanna too_, and a spiky blonde haired boy, with a serious look on his face. He also seemed to be wearing headphones.

He made his way over to them, and gave them yet another toothy grin, "Hi. I'm Natsu."

"Tch. He doesn't look particularly special." scoffed the blonde haired boy, before walking off. "I'm outta here."

"Uh. That's Laxus, he's the master's grandson. He can be a bit rude sometimes." explained Lisanna. "Don't let him bother you."

"Hey flame-brain, I'm Gray. I'm an ice-make wizard" stated the half-naked boy.

Natsu growled. "Don't call me flame-brain, you damn… _And where are your clothes!?_"

"Ah shit!" he cried. "Not again! Has anyone seen my clothes?" He then ran off looking for them, leaving Natsu behind with a bewildered expression on his face. _Did he really not notice!?_

"I'm Cana. I use card based magic. Nice to meet you kiddo." the brown haired girl said.

"I'm Elfman. MAN!" yelled the white haired boy. _Uh…Man? He's weird…_

"Ignore my idiot brother, he acts stupid most of the time." scowled the white haired female. "I'm Mirajane. They call me the demon. Wanna know why?" she looked at Natsu and gave him the most devious grin she could muster.

"You're not scary, you know." sighed Natsu. "Not compared to a dragon anyway…"

"A dragon? What are you talking about?" asked the scarlet haired girl. Meanwhile, Mirajane was being restrained by her brother and sister. _Not scary? Why that little… I'm gonna rip him apart! Just you wait…_

"I was raised by a dragon. His name was Igneel." Natsu replied simply.

"That's pretty hard to believe you know…" she frowned.

"Well it's true, gramps believes me." he growled.

"It's as you say." replied the girl. "My name's Erza Scarlet. Nice to meet you."

The group had been getting to know Natsu for a few minutes now, before a question came up.

"You know, I still don't know what magic you use?" asked Gray.

"It's called Dragon Slayer Magic. Mine is fire." said Natsu.

"Dragon Slayer Magic? I've never heard of that before." Erza frowned.

"It's a very old form of magic." interjected Makarov.

"Master, I didn't see you there. Can you tell us more about his magic?" asked Erza.

"Hmm. Even I don't know all that much Erza. It seems to use the qualities of dragons in its attacks though. Wouldn't you agree Natsu?" asked Makarov.

"Yeah! There's a lot of skills that do that. You've already seen my roar though." exclaimed Natsu. "I can even use fire with my punches and kicks."

"Well. I know that Dragon Slayer magic is exactly for doing just that. Slaying dragons. But dragons are a myth now. No one's seen one for centuries. It's a powerful branch of magic, you have to have a lot of skill to use it." explained Makarov.

"Slaying dragons?" gasped Lisanna. "That's scary to think about."

The conversation carried on for a while longer. Afterwards, Natsu had gotten well acquainted with most of the guild, and received a red Fairy Tail guild mark on his right shoulder. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy. He had gained new friends and rivals, and was part of a family, according to Makarov's interpretation of the guild.

However, a few years later, something would happen that would change him forever…

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter. Hmm. Not sure if I'm completely happy with this one, but it explains some of the dragon slaying stuff, introduces the characters some more, and a little bit of backstory. Of course, I left a teaser in there at the end. The event is mostly original, so it may take me a little longer to flesh it out. It'll be a big chapter though, so you can look forward to that.**

**As always, please review, let me know if I get too OOC with some of the other characters – I'm trying to be somewhat faithful.**

**Please enjoy.**


	6. Equivalent Exchange

**Chapter Six : Equivalent Exchange**

* * *

It had been several years since Natsu joined Fairy Tail, and so much had changed. He had gotten far stronger, to the point where he was well known and respected as 'Fairy Tail's Salamander'. He had not long ago passed the S Class competition, and joined the ranks of Mystogan, Mirajane, Erza, Laxus, and Gildarts, as one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail. Time had been kind to Natsu, he was now far more formidable a wizard, and still improving greatly with every passing day.

Along the way, he had grown as an individual. He still had a fiery personality, always smiling, laughing and jumping into crazy situations with relish. Without a doubt, he embodied the soul of the guild in many ways.

Barely a year after he had joined the guild, he had found a large egg, which he claimed was a dragon egg. He and Lisanna worked together to hatch it, they were often together, almost acting like a married couple at times. They got teased endlessly for it by the other guild members, but they were all admittedly interested in what would hatch. Lisanna had built a little house in the east forest, using her Take-Over: Rabbit form, where she and Natsu spent most of their time with the egg. Natsu had learnt that she was impossible to beat in an argument, and she often enjoyed teasing him about getting married someday. In her eyes, they were practically a mother and father to the egg.

One day, the egg hatched. Instead of the dragon that Natsu kept insisting it was going to be, a little blue cat with wings popped out instead. After seeing everyone in the guild smiling, and enjoying the sight of the strange creature, he decided to call him 'Happy'. It was quite fitting, considering the situation.

About three years later, an emergency S-Class mission was posted up, about a beast terrorising towns up north. Mirajane decided to take Lisanna and Elfman with her, since there were no other available S class wizards at the time. Gildarts was on a 100 year quest, the hardest kind of quest one could take, and had been gone for over a year now. Meanwhile, Natsu had yet to return from a difficult mission, and everyone was unsure of his current whereabouts.

"Mira-nee? Do we have to do this, we only just got back from the last mission!" complained Lisanna.

"Yes we do. I know you want to wait for your boyfriend to get back, but somebody's got to do this." Mirajane grinned deviously as she watched Lisanna suddenly realise what she'd said. "Awww, that blushing is too cute! Hahaha!"

"Stop that Mira-nee! It's not like that all!" cried Lisanna. Unfortunately, thinking about it had only made her blush even harder, a fact that was noticed by her sister, who began teasing her yet again.

"A man doesn't stand around waiting for people all day!" grumbled a visibly annoyed Elfman.

The two sisters glared at him, causing Elfman to tremble in fear. His sisters were the source of most of his woes, especially the 'Demon' Mirajane, who loved torturing pretty much anyone. Even Lisanna could be quite mean if she put her mind to it. _Of course it runs in the family! Why wouldn't it :D_

* * *

**_A few days later…_**

_I'm fed up of walking up and down rocky mountains. Why can't there be some real paths up here?_ Natsu thought to himself. He had just finished a mission, involving some sort of sea monster who had been crushing fishing boats on the north coast. It had been fairly challenging to deal with; it was a large sort of sea snake, with some really vicious teeth. It managed to destroy half the fishing fleet before Natsu finally finished it. Sadly, his reward had to pay for all the damage, even if he hadn't actually caused it (this time). It annoyed him, but it was probably for the best. It was extremely windy around there though, sharp sand and rocks often flying around, so he had bought himself a midnight black cloak with hood, to protect parts of his clothing and face from it, including a white scarf that Igneel had given him. Sadly, this left him with other problems…

_I'm starting to think that S class missions are just tedious… All that effort for little reward, not even enough to get some decent food after I stupidly bought that cloak. I'm going hungry tonight… Maybe I can find a nice person over in that town that can spare some food for me. _

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted upon hearing a massive roar from near the town. Natsu visibly frowned from hearing this, and decided that something strange must be going on. _Guess I can only go check it out…_

And with that, he ran down the mountainside, barely slowing down at parts where rocks had fallen and built up dangerous obstacles. He was in a hurry, just in case something bad was happening, being more reckless than usual in his haste. _I hope it's nothing serious… But I have a bad feeling about this…_

* * *

**_A short distance away…_**

Mira collapsed, too exhausted to continue fighting. Her take-over magic had faded away; she no longer had the energy to continue using it. She was breathing heavily, as a large Beast advanced on her, spitting and snarling.

"Mira-nee!" shouted Lisanna, she had just flown over from the town using Take-Over: Wings, before landing next to her sister. "Are you ok? Where's Elfman?"

Mira groaned in pain. "Managed… to… subdue beast, but it took over Elfman's body… It got all its strength back; I can't fight it off anymore… too tired…"

"Elf-nii is the beast?" Lisanna looked up at the beast again before stepping in front of Mira.

"Lisanna, get out of here! You can't fight it!" hissed Mira.

Lisanna shook her head; she wasn't going to leave now, not while her sister and brother were in trouble. "I'll stop him. He wouldn't hurt me."

She walked towards the beast, spread her arms out wide and smiled at her now beastly brother. The Beast looked at her for a moment, before raising a hand and brutally striking her away. Time seemed to slow down for Mira, as she looked on horrified.

"_Lisanna!_" she cried. "No!"

Suddenly, an anguished roar came from the cliff overlooking the scene. A midnight black cloaked person jumped down and landed in front of Mira. He glanced back at her, before forcing out the words, "Mira… go find Lisanna. I'll take care of this…"

Mira choked back her tears, realising it was Natsu standing in front of her. "Thank you…" she whispered, barely able to control her emotions. She was relieved to see Natsu but was terrified of what could've happened to Lisanna. _Please be okay… Please…_

Natsu watched her leave for a moment, before turning his attention to the beast in front of him.

He was shaking with barely suppressed anger, "I'm going to deal with you quickly…" The tone in his voice was uncharacteristically shaky. He then shot forwards with blinding speed, fists blazing with fire. _I'm struggling to hold back my anger here… I need to end this quickly, or I might lose control…_

The battle was brutal. The Beast clearly had a strength and power advantage, and Natsu was already tired from his previous endeavours. Little by little, his strength was being worn down. _Come on! I know I've still got more than this… I have to stop it now… _

Natsu suddenly ducked under a big fist that was swung at his head. _It's now or never! _Natsu then roared, as he began to swing his hands in a circular motion, "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: **_Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!_**" A torrent of flames then barraged the beast, exploding as it struck. It was over.

Natsu then coughed up some blood. He had beaten the beast, but not before taking some heavy damage. _Damn, I don't have time to deal with this. I need to go find Mira and Lisanna. I'll have to take that unconscious idiot as well._

As the beast had been beaten, an unconscious Elfman had been left behind, free from its control. Natsu picked him up and hoisted him onto his shoulder, before limping in the direction Mira had gone. _I wish I had gotten here sooner. Maybe Lisanna wouldn't have gotten hurt… _He was incredibly frustrated at not being able to protect one of his friends; he had only just reached the scene when he saw her getting struck. He hated his friends getting hurt; it was something he'd sworn to prevent with every fibre of his being.

* * *

**_With Mira…_**

"M-Mira-nee…? Is that you?" whispered Lisanna. She was lying on her back, having been knocked a long way away. She seemed half asleep, struggling with her breathing.

"I'm here Lisanna… I'm here…" a voice replied to her. Mira was kneeling down next her, holding her hand, with tears in her eyes. She gave her a sister a smile to comfort her, but she was still shaking a little in fear, fear of possibly losing Lisanna.

"I'm cold Mira-nee…" Lisanna whispered. "I was an idiot wasn't I?"

"Yeah you were, you idiot. I'll punish you when we get back you know?" Mira chuckled weakly at her sister.

Lisanna closed her eyes for a moment, breathing raggedly. "Please stay awake!" choked Mira. "You need to stay awake for me now…"

Lisanna gasped slightly, as she forced her eyes open again. A weak smile formed on her lips as she looked at Mira again. Finally, she spoke again, "I'll stay awake. I'm not going anywhere, promise…" She then shivered a little, before continuing, "How's Elf-nii, I don't see him…?"

"He's ok… Natsu's taking care of him." Mira smiled at her.

"N-Natsu's here…?" whispered Lisanna.

"Yes… He's taking care of everything." nodded Mira. _I'm glad he showed up. Almost like a miracle…_

"Just like Natsu… isn't it?" Lisanna chuckled weakly. "Always shows up… when you least expect it…"

Mira giggled. "That boyfriend of yours… huh."

Lisanna hissed slightly, "It's not like that!"

"Yeah that's right, I'd think I'd know if I was her boyfriend you know?" interrupted a voice from nearby. Natsu had just entered the clearing where Mira and Lisanna were, carrying Elfman on his shoulder. He then set the unconscious Elfman down against a tree before panting to catch his breath. Elfman was a little beaten up, but seemed to be ok after the ordeal.

"Your brother is stupidly heavy…" joked Natsu, a small smile on his face. "Oi Lisanna, you gonna lie there all day?"

"Ha..ha.. As if." she smiled at him slightly. "I just don't feel like moving… that's all…"

_She should know I can tell when she's lying by now surely?_

"If you say so." replied Natsu. He then walked over and sat down next to Mira, a worried expression evident on his face.

"I'm sleepy…" sighed Lisanna. Her breathing started to get slower, she seemed to struggle to keep her eyes open.

"You promised Lisanna!" cried Mira. "You have to stay awake; you promised me you'd be ok!"

A soft golden light started to envelop her body. Mira and Natsu both gasped in shock as it happened.

"What is this!?" exclaimed Natsu.

_You know what it is… Or did you forget, Natsu-san? Your head isn't what it used to be now, is it…_

A soft voice suddenly spoke inside his head. This shocked Natsu suddenly, he visibly flinched, but Mira was too focused on Lisanna to notice this.

_What!? Who are you? _He spoke to the voice with his thoughts.

_Hmm… I'd prefer not to tell you… yet. But then again, I wonder how I'm going to fix you this time. Well to start with… I'll give you a little help, just because I like you. _The voice seemed to be female and was giggling lightly.

Natsu frowned as he watched Mira grasp Lisanna's hand tighter, before a sudden burst of knowledge gave him a headache.

_That should do for now… It's up to you to choose what to do with it. I tinkered a little, so your head is going to be sore for a while… But you'll eventually get back everything you're missing. You should thank me, you know?_

_I'll get back to you on that. _Natsu's inner voice was definitely sharp and slightly angry this time, not that the strange phenomenon cared about it.

In the meantime, Mira was visibly getting frantic, as Lisanna seemed to be fading away, losing her grip on her hand. "N-Natsu… Help… What?"

_Are you sure that's a wise choice? I do know what you're thinking about doing you know… _

_I'll risk it. For my friends, I'd do anything._

_Aptly put! _The voice sounded rather pleased now, almost excited. _You might never get back you know? I'd miss you, dear Natsu-san…_

_My mind is made up. _Natsu affirmed once again.

"Mira… I'm going to do something." Natsu said tentatively.

"W-what are you going to do?" she stuttered.

"Well, something stupid. That's what you would say." replied Natsu. Before Mira could reply, Natsu grabbed Lisanna's hand and muttered under his breath. Suddenly, the glow intensified, before Natsu finally let go of Lisanna. She started to solidify again, breathing lightly, but had fallen asleep.

"Well… It worked." stated Natsu.

"B-but, what did you do?" exclaimed Mira.

"I don't have time to explain…" he said, just as coughed up some blood. _Heh. Elfman sure managed to hurt me. Couple of broken ribs here._

Then slowly, the golden light started to form around Natsu. "Ah… time's up." he sighed.

"Why is that happening?" choked Mira. "You're fading away!"

"I made a choice… My life, or hers." mumbled Natsu. "It's better this way isn't it? You guys will still have each other."

"You're not making sense! Your life? What's happening!?" cried Mira. She was visibly upset and crying from seeing Natsu slowly fading away.

"Hey Mira… I hate goodbyes you know." said Natsu.

He then gave her his trademark toothy grin, before disappearing in a small wisp of golden dust.

_Wha… What just happened? Where did he go? Natsu! NATSU!_

* * *

***Fanfare* Badaboom. Finally got my head around what I wanted to do for future events, this is a really important chapter, so I spent a little extra time working on it, hope you like it! Some very obvious plot points, some not so obvious, but I'm much happier with the work I've done for this one than for some of the previous chapters. A bigger update this time, as promised of course.**

**Next chapter is the last 'Pre-Lucy' one. It'll wrap up this little arc, so please look forward to it very soon.**

**Take care!**


	7. Broken

**Chapter Seven : Broken**

* * *

"She hasn't spoken to anyone since she got back!" shouted Erza.

"Patience! She's been through a traumatic experience; she needs time to deal with it. For now, we can only wait." Makarov frowned. _But what actually happened, even I don't know. When she's ready to talk…_

"But what did she mean, Natsu's gone? Gone where!?" exclaimed Erza.

"That's enough!" Makarov yelled. "We'll find out eventually, stop pestering me!" He was getting visibly frustrated now, but inwardly feared the worst from her words.

Mira, Elfman and Lisanna had come back from their mission in bad shape. While Elfman only had a few minor injuries, he had been extremely quiet since their return. Mira had come back with various broken bones, but Lisanna was in far worse condition. She had only woken up for a few fleeting moments before sleeping again since they returned. Her body had been almost broken beyond repair, and she had been close to death for several days. It was a miracle she had even been alive on her return.

Mira meanwhile hadn't left her sister's side since she got back. She had barely spoken more than two words to anyone, her only statement being 'N-Natsu's gone…' before clamming up tight. She was clearly traumatised, unable to sleep and she had only eaten when forced to by some worried guild members.

Various members had been searching for Natsu, but had found no trace of him, save some scorch marks where Mira's mission had been. By now, everyone in the guild assumed Natsu had met with them on the mission, and had done some fighting, but beyond that, they had no idea what actually happened. Elfman had been of little help, clamming up tight whenever someone asked him about it, but even he didn't know what happened after he had been beaten unconscious. He couldn't bring himself to go visit his sister Lisanna, though no one save Mira knew why.

* * *

**_A few days later…_**

Lisanna had finally recovered well enough from her injuries to speak. While the guild was overjoyed that she was now in much better shape, and safe from danger, they still had unanswered questions. Makarov had forbidden anyone to talk to her before he had pieced together what had happened.

He had dragged Elfman along with him to talk to his siblings, despite how reluctant he seemed to be, he had no choice in the matter, answers had to be found. Lisanna was propped up on her bed, still slightly weak from her ordeal, while Mira was curled up in a chair, knees up to her chin, with a hollow look in her once bright and life-filled eyes. After Makarov had dragged Elfman in, he locked the door, and motioned him to sit in a free chair. He seemed to be avoiding looking at his sister's, a sorrowful expression was evident on his face.

"Now… I understand this might be difficult for the three of you, but we need to know what happened on your mission. There are still many unanswered questions. Can any of you tell me something?" inquired Makarov; he had a slightly concerned expression at how Mira and Elfman suddenly seemed to tense up, but Lisanna spoke first.

"The village we were staying at was attacked by The Beast. I led the villagers away while Mira and Elfman lured it away from town. I don't know much of what happened, but when I got back to them, Mira was in bad shape, and Elfman was…" she faltered slightly at this point, before Makarov gave her some encouragement to continue. "Mira said… Elfman was taken over by The Beast. I tried to reason with him… but I was stupid… He attacked me…"

Makarov sighed at her words. "I see… What happened after?"

"I don't remember much… But next thing I remember was Mira sitting next to me. She told me Natsu was taking care of Elfman. He turned up a little while later carrying Elfman… But I don't remember anything after that. You should ask Natsu, or Mira…" she hesitated, as Mira gave an involuntary sob as she mentioned Natsu.

"Mira-nee? What's wrong?" Lisanna asked.

Mira flinched at her words and shook her head. Fresh tears trickled down her face. She seemed as though she was reliving a bad dream, before Elfman interrupted.

"Nee-chan… I need to know… Did I… hurt Natsu too?" he asked glumly. "I-Is that why he's gone?"

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Where's Natsu?" Lisanna looked at Mira, who was getting more and more upset, before finally succumbing to tears.

"H-He's dead…" Mira wept uncontrollably. "I-It's all my fault! I was too weak!"

At this point Lisanna looked at her in shock, before she started trembling, tears forming in her eyes.

"H-He can't be dead… Please tell me he isn't d-dead…" she cried.

Makarov held his head in his hands as Mira's words sunk in. _He's dead… I see… _However, he held back his sorrow at the news for now; he still had to press Mira for more information, it was necessary to know everything.

"Mira… please tell us everything. We need to know!" he asserted firmly.

Mira flinched at his words, but reluctantly began to speak as best she could; her voice was shaky from her emotional pain. "Lisanna… was fading away. My hand went right through hers… I was desperate, I thought she was dying. T-Then Natsu… said he was going to do something s-s-stupid… He grabbed hold of Lisanna… and did something…"

"Something?" interrupted Makarov.

"H-he did some sort of chant… I don't know what… but his hand started glowing, then he said he didn't h-have… much t-time… He was saying s-stupid stuff… like h-how he hated saying goodbye… He was coughing up b-blood… then he just faded away… h-he was gone…" Mira spoke falteringly, struggling to bring out the words, before sinking back into her chair, head in her hands.

Lisanna looked shell-shocked, her mind struggling to come to terms with what she heard. "H-he's dead…?"

Elfman also seemed to be struggling with the news, a few tears running down his cheek. Makarov finally spoke after a few moments of silence. "I see… I am truly sorry for putting you through this… This is hard for me too." He sighed. "I need… to go deliver the bad news." He left quietly, leaving the Strauss's alone to mourn the loss in peace.

* * *

**_In the Guild Hall…_**

Everyone was sat around the tables, a melancholy mood was apparent in the air. It hadn't been long since the master had gone to talk to the Strauss siblings about the mission they had been on. No one dared to break the silence. It wasn't long after that, that Mira could be heard crying throughout the guild hall. Everyone seemed to tense up upon hearing this, a few painful thoughts were reflected in several people's faces.

When the master finally returned, the mood was tense. There were internal debates on whether they wanted to hear what actually happened, people sensing that they might truly not want to know. As the master gained everyone's attention, he looked mournful for a split second before forcing himself to bottle up any emotion he was feeling, for the sake of being strong for his children; the news he had to tell them was grave.

"As you are aware, Mira and her siblings had trouble on their last mission. I have confirmed that Natsu did indeed meet with them during the mission. Please listen carefully. Elfman was taken over by The Beast during the mission, incapacitating Mira, and injuring Lisanna. I have found out that Natsu arrived after Lisanna had been hurt. He was able to stop The Beast from rampaging any further… However, he sustained several grievous injuries during this. He was able to save Elfman and Mira, and gained enough time for Lisanna to return safely. I am truly sorry to say… Natsu has passed away… and I speak for everyone here when I say… he will be sorely missed." Makarov haltingly gave his speech to the guild, before finally sighing sadly as he finished. He just had to deliver a piece of very bad news to his family, and it was going to hurt them greatly.

It hurt. Nearly everyone in the guild was struggling to come to terms with the news. A lot of people were crying, including the usually stoic Erza. Cana was drowning her sorrows in alcohol, while even Laxus seemed down due to the loss of Natsu. A few of the older members, such as Macao were also crying at the loss of someone who was the embodiment of the guild in many eyes. Gray, who was always fighting with Natsu, was now sat silently, staring at a wall. A mournful mood passed across the usually vibrant Magnolia that day.

* * *

**_A week later…_**

It was raining today. For the funeral of one of the loved members of Fairy Tail, it seemed to reflect the sorrow and pain they now felt. The Master had led the guild to the site they were going to hold the funeral at. A special gravestone had been made for it, with a Fairy Tail emblem, circled by a dragon, in honour of Natsu's magic and foster father. Even to the ordinary citizens of Magnolia, the loss of Natsu, or the Salamander as he was affectionately known, was profound. A great many of them had gathered to pay their respects to a fine wizard and a good friend to many. Even the reclusive Mystogan had come to pay his respect, standing in the shadows.

Finally Makarov spoke. "It is with great sadness, that I stand before you today, to say a final farewell to a much loved member of our guild, Natsu Dragneel. This is truly difficult for me to say, but I speak for everyone here when I say, he was always full of life, he truly represented our guild, in all of his heart and soul. At times… he was as fierce as a dragon itself, truly loyal to his friends, never allowing harm to befall them, and others; he was a warming presence who brought life to our family. He was always striving to get stronger, for the sake of his friends, or his family, as he would say. We will live on, and get stronger, we will continue to uphold everything he held dear, if only for the sole reason of fulfilling his dream, and doing honour to his memory. Farewell… Natsu." Makarov finally caved at the end of his speech, tears flowing freely down his face, as he said his final farewell to one of his own, one of his family. Sorrow overcame everyone, as they paid their final respects, to one they had loved dearly. Today, their hearts were truly broken.

* * *

**_A year later…_**

A strange person stood in front of Natsu Dragneel's grave, covered in black. To many, it seemed as though the person was paying his respects to the boy who had died a long time ago. To the person though…

* * *

**I'M SO SORRY! SO SORRY! *Ends chapter like a bitch* Anyway… as promised, I finally got the painful one to write out of the way… I'll get the next chapter up soon – look forward to it!**

**As always, please leave a review, it always helps, leave ideas as well if you want to, next chapter will wrap it all up in a neat bow and get back on the timeline dammit. I SWEAR!**


	8. It's Dark Inside

**Chapter Eight : It's Dark Inside**

* * *

**_A year later…_**

A strange person stood in front of Natsu Dragneel's grave, covered in black. To many, it seemed as though the person was paying his respects to the boy who had died a long time ago. To the person though…

* * *

_My… grave… I see. How long has it been? It's pointless honouring the memory of a dead man… I've learnt that lesson painfully. Why did I even come here? I should leave them in peace, they've moved on. But if I go see them… No. It would only hurt me in the end. Anything I get close to leaves me in the end… This would be the same. Ok. I'll just stop by some personal places, for old time's sake. Then I'll just quietly disappear and get on with life. They're better off without me._

Having resolved his inner conflict, he headed off to the East Forest, to visit one last place which held some memories for him.

_It's probably still there. I'm not sure if she would ever come back here… Just a fleeting moment of happiness for me… compared to everything I've been through since those days._

There it stood. A little house in the East Forest, now a former shadow of what it used to be. It seemed no one had maintained it this past year.

_As expected… Coming back here would probably only remind her of a dead man. It's much easier to forget it ever existed, it would be less painful. I should burn this place to the ground, it would be better to let go of the past._

As he lit a fire in his hand, he was just about ready to begin, when someone shouted behind him.

"What are you doing!?" the voice cried.

Without turning around, he replied "Why should it matter to you? You wouldn't know what this place is."

He then resumed what he was doing, before suddenly getting tackled to the ground. He picked himself up and dusted himself off, before turning to face his attacker. An involuntary gasp of shock escaped his lips as he looked at the face of a tearful Mirajane Strauss.

"Don't even think about it! This is all we have left of him, and I won't let you do it!" she yelled at him.

"How… do you even know this is here?" he asked Mira.

"I should be asking you that. Who are you!?" Mira asked. She was now very upset and angry with the stranger in front of her. He even tried to burn the place down! She wasn't going to let it happen, even if Lisanna refused to ever come back here, she wanted to make sure it was here, whether it was for her sister or not. It was the only thing left that he had been a part of, and it wasn't going to disappear like he once did.

"I-I'm no one… I should just go." he stuttered. He was panicking slightly now, he hadn't expected to run into an issue like this, he just wanted to get rid of any ties he had left to the world, and move on, no one would ever know he had been here. And now, here he was, standing in front of Mira, who luckily didn't recognise him. _I can't stay here… It's better if I go now! It's easier…_

He turned to leave quickly, but was stopped by Mira grabbing his arm.

"Y-You're not going anywhere! Who are you and why are you here!?" she yelled at him, voice rising to a shriek, as she became more hysterical.

"N-Nobody… Please let go of me." he stuttered, trying to free himself from her grip, but was having no luck. _Still as damn hard to escape from as always._

Eventually Mira had enough of the exchange and forcefully tried to pull down his hood. He backpedalled trying to get away from her before tripping over a root, pulling her down with him. Suddenly he could see Mira's face almost right in front of his. As Mira looked at him, her eyes widened in shock. He finally realised that she could now see his face. _This is not good. Dammit!_

"N-Natsu…?" she trembled slightly. "Is that you…?"

Natsu said nothing as he looked at her, it felt painful to see her again, and it was only going to hurt a lot more now that she knew who he really was.

"I-It is you… But how?" Mira asked again, but no reply was forthcoming. Natsu seemed to be looking right through her, and it sent a chill down her spine. _It's like he doesn't want to see me… But… why?_

She suddenly grabbed him and hugged him, tears falling, "Natsu… please say something. Anything!"

"I know it's my fault, I was too weak, too arrogant. I know you blame me for everything, just please… talk to me!"

Natsu was extremely agitated. _What do I do now? I didn't want to be seen by anyone! I can't just leave now can I? _

Finally, he decided. The damage had already been done, and he didn't want to hurt anyone, but he had already done so. "H-Hello… Mira…"

He paused before continuing. "It's not your fault. Don't ever think that, ever again. I don't blame you for anything. I'm sorry."

Several minutes passed before either of them spoke again. They had now separated and were sat next to each other under a big oak tree. Mira was looking nervously at Natsu, as though afraid he was a figment of her imagination, and that he would disappear in front of her again. He looked like a shadow of his former self, weary of the world, as though he had seen things no man should ever see. He was cold, and distant, but she could tell he was still in there, however deep he may be buried. He still had the spiky pink hair, but his eyes were almost lifeless, and he had a scar across the bridge of his nose. Even his prized scarf looked tatty; it had not been taken care of for a long time. Mira realised he was still wearing the same cloak he had disappeared in, even if it was full of holes in places. He had been through a lot, perhaps more than anyone in Fairy Tail had this past year.

"What happened to you Natsu?" Mira asked hesitantly, she was still reeling slightly from the shock of seeing him again.

Natsu flinched slightly at the question; it forced him to involuntarily remember things he would rather forget. "Don't ask that. Ever." He said this calmly and assertively, he made it absolutely clear he was not going to answer that question. This worried Mira even more, something obviously happened, but he was refusing to tell her. She almost expected that, why would he tell anyone, if it was something they never wanted to speak of.

"You disappeared right in front of me. I thought you'd died, you were coughing up blood. Can you tell me something please?" Mira pressed Natsu a little more on the issue.

A pained expression came over his face momentarily, before settling back into a stoic expression. "I didn't die. Isn't that enough?"

"Fine. I don't know what happened to you to cause this, but you'll talk when you're ready. I'll be here for you, whenever that is." stated Mira with a serious look on her face.

Natsu then finally looked at Mira, rather than avoiding the fact she was there, before saying "You've really changed."

"Well so have you." Mira frowned.

"How is everyone?" he asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself? You weren't planning on not seeing us again were you?" asked Mira.

"I didn't want to see anyone." Natsu stated.

"You were going to let us think you were still dead!?" snapped Mira. "How could you even do that to us?"

Natsu looked down at the ground, a sorrowful look on his face. "It's easier that way…"

"Easier!?" shouted Mira. "That's it, I'm taking you to the guild whether you like it or not!"

Mira then grabbed Natsu by the scarf, and yanked him along with her, despite his protesting and struggling, and headed to the guild. She was one angry Mira.

* * *

**_At the Guild Hall…_**

It had been a year since Natsu's death, but the guild had been recovering slowly but surely. It was a lot quieter than it used to be, but everyone had come to terms with the loss in their own way. Cana had drunk a lot more alcohol after Natsu died, but otherwise was her usual self.

Elfman had never used a full body takeover since the mission, for fear of hurting his sisters again. However, he seemed to be back to his normal self (With a lot of extra Manliness). Lisanna tried to put a brave face on for everyone, and especially for her little cat friend Happy. It wasn't easy, but she was dealing with it. Erza had accepted his death eventually, and moved on, acting just as she would if Natsu was still there. Needless to say, the Erza glare still had the full effect.

Gray had taken Natsu's philosophy to heart, and threw himself into the pursuit of getting stronger for his friends. Mira however, never seemed to recover from the consequences, despite many talks with her sister and the Master, she still blamed herself, and had not taken a mission since. Mira rarely smiled anymore, and even when she did, it was a fake one, she never really felt happy. All in all, Fairy Tail was recovering well, some people handling the news better than others.

Most of the guild members were chatting and drinking before a loud interruption drew their attention. The guild doors burst open, as someone in a black cloak flew in with a yell, "Don't throw me!"

Following immediately after was a slightly out of breath Mira. Before anyone could ask what was happening, she turned around, slammed the doors shut, and locked everyone in.

"Mira? Who's that person, and what are you doing?" inquired a rather confused Erza.

"Ask him yourself!" she snapped. She obviously looked a little frustrated, if not angry, but the rather unusual thing was the wide grin she now had.

_Mira's actually smiling? Huh!?_ , was the thought running through most of the guild.

"Hey Mira. Please don't do this to me, let me out!" cried the stranger angrily. "I have my damn reasons!"

"Not happening!"

"Okay… Now Mira's acting all weird and stuff." said another confused guild member.

"Tch. Let's just deal with this." Said a slightly irate Erza, before she grabbed the stranger by the back of the cloak and yanked it off, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground.

"Oh fuck!" cried the now revealed Natsu.

"_NATSU!?_" yelled everyone in the guild.

"W-What, H-How?" stuttered one stunned Erza.

Lying flat on his butt was someone who looked exactly like Natsu. Most of the guild looked stunned. Lisanna dropped an entire tray of drinks, even Cana stopped drinking. (Cana stopped drinking? Really?)

However, the big grin on Mira's face suddenly turned into a look of surprise, as the now fuming Erza knocked Natsu out with a blow to the head. "Interrogation time." She declared.

Natsu woke up with a blinding headache, to find himself tied up to a chair, surrounded by most of the guild. Several people were still prodding him to see if he was real. After it had sunk in, most of the guild now started partying and drowning themselves in alcohol at the revelation of seeing Natsu again.

However, several people were still stood around him, with annoyed looks on their faces, including a certain now giant sized Makarov. He wasn't getting out of this one easily. As the interrogation began, he could only mentally curse Mira. _When I'm done here, I swear I'm going to punish her for this…_

* * *

**_Back in the present…_**

"You still couldn't get any answers out of him?" asked an incredulous Lucy. "But all that torture… How could he even stand up to that?"

"Beats me." answered Gray. "Obviously something he refused to answer under any conditions. The guy's changed though; he's not even worth calling flame-brain anymore. He's completely lost his balls."

"Gray!" gasped Mira. "At least we have him back you know?"

"But we don't have him back do we? He hasn't taken a single mission since he returned, just like you. And you're telling me we have him back?" hissed an irate Gray.

"He's better than he was a year ago. He wouldn't even to talk to anyone except for a few small conversations here and there." interjected Makarov. "We should be glad he's not dead, despite whatever issues he still has. He'll open up eventually. We must be patient."

"I'd never seen Natsu so lifeless before. I was happy beyond words to find out he was alive… but I miss the old Natsu." Lisanna said sadly. "At least just knowing he's ok makes the guild a happy and lively place again. I'm glad he's back with us."

Sitting on the second floor railing looking down at the conversation, was a thoughtful looking Natsu. _There are things that just wouldn't be safe to know… Things that I could never tell anyone… And that torture session still gives me the creeps. I don't think I ever want to go on a mission again, I'm not sure I could protect anyone the way I am now. Gray's right… I really have lost my teeth haven't I? Not to mention, I still didn't pay Mira back for that painful experience…_

While lost in his own thoughts, the guild doors burst open as a young boy called Romeo ran in.

"Is my dad back yet?" he asked

"No he's not brat." huffed Makarov.

"But it's been a week! He said he'd be back in three days!" cried Romeo.

"Your dad is a Fairy Tail wizard. He can look after himself! Now go back home brat!" grumbled Makarov.

Romeo ran up to Makarov, and scored a clean punch to his cheek before running off shouting, "You're an idiot! I hate you all!"

Natsu allowed himself to smile slightly at the stunned look on Makarov, and most of the guild's faces, before catching himself and resuming his stoic expression. _I am slightly worried about Macao though… Reminds me of some… painful stuff._

"Macao's mission was at wasn't it master?" asked a slightly concerned Mira.

"Hai. He should be fine though, he's a Fairy Tail wizard." nodded Makarov, while looking out the now open doors. _I wonder… Natsu definitely heard us. We'll see._

* * *

**Okay… I rewrote most of this, otherwise I would have put it out yesterday, but I wasn't happy with some of it. I'm still not completely convinced on the reintroduction bit, or the meeting with Mira, but I'm happy enough with it to throw it out to you guys. I may rework the chapter in later updates, I'll let you know if I update certain chapters in this summary bit for each chapter I write.**

**And finally we're back to uh… square one. Damn. The writing gets a lot easier for me from here on, since I have an actual timeline of events I can follow.**

**As always, please enjoy, and leave a review if you want to!**


	9. Ghosts of the Past

**Chapter Nine : Ghosts of the Past**

* * *

_**Previously…**_

"Macao's mission was at wasn't it master?" asked a slightly concerned Mira.

"Hai. He should be fine though, he's a Fairy Tail wizard." nodded Makarov, while looking out the now open doors. _I wonder… Natsu definitely heard us. We'll see._

* * *

Natsu furrowed his brow. He was staring out the open door of the guild house in deep thought. _This reminds me of my situation. But what use would I be? I couldn't even… No. As much as I hate to admit it, I've lost my convictions. The kid's worried. The mission is dangerous. He didn't come back when promised. _Finally he decided._ I hope I don't regret this dammit._

He didn't notice a few people staring at him, waiting to see what he was going to do. Makarov seemed interested in what Natsu was doing, so Mira, Gray, Lisanna and Lucy all looked to see what was happening. Natsu's fingers seemed to twitch for a moment, before he hopped down off the second floor railing and landing on his feet softly. He then stopped for a moment noticing the stares from the people at the bar, before shrugging it off and walking out the door.

"Is he…?" asked Gray.

"I dare say he is." replied Makarov. "Hey newbie, go follow him. You need to learn a bit about missions. I think following Natsu should get you some insight into it."

"Are you sure he's going to go after Macao?" inquired a curious Mira.

"There are some things even he can't ignore. " stated Makarov. "Now hurry up and follow him blondie. He probably won't like it, but stick with him until he's done."

"He'll take care of you if he has to. He's still Natsu after all." Lisanna said, attempting to persuade said blondie to go.

Lucy looked at the expectant faces of her new guild mates, but the look in Mira's eyes was what finally got her. It was too much to ignore.

"Fine… I'll go." said Lucy, already regretting it as the words flowed out of her mouth. Before she could leave though, Lisanna interrupted with the ever so popular phrase, "Gray. Your clothes."

"Ah not again!" he cried as he ran around searching for them. _Seriously… that's a major problem._

Lucy stared slack-jawed at the scene, before catching herself and hurrying out the door after Natsu.

* * *

**_Soon after…_**

"And why are you coming with me?" asked an annoyed Natsu.

"U-Uh… I'm new… s-so I decided to follow you to learn more about requests" stuttered Lucy.

Natsu sighed exasperatedly. "The master asked you to follow me, didn't he?"

"N-No… I mean yes." squeaked Lucy, as Natsu suddenly glared at her. _That was a frightening look he gave me. How could he tell I was lying, that's creepy…?_

"W-Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"None of your business." growled Natsu. He looked away from her, as if to say he was finished listening to her questions. He didn't want to be telling someone he hardly knew about himself, it was hard enough to avoid stupid questions from his guild mates about some parts of his past. They'd gotten the message eventually, but it still happened from time to time, and it frustrated him immensely.

_S-Scary…_ thought Lucy. _They were right though, he seems to be completely indifferent to people, until they start asking personal questions. Something horrible must have happened to him at some point if he ended up this way._

Her musing was interrupted by the carriage driver announcing that he had taken them as far as he could. They stepped out the carriage, right into a freezing snowstorm.

"S-s-so cold…" shivered Lucy.

"This is your own fault. Do you even know what I'm doing here?" Natsu asked sharply. He seemed annoyed at her stupidity, but faintly concerned; it was deathly cold for someone like her up here. She didn't have a cloak or anything to keep her warm.

"Ah dammit. Here, take my cloak." Natsu said, handing her his cloak. "And just so you know, we're here to find Macao. He had a request to take out 20 Vulcans. Big monster type things, if you didn't know already. It's dangerous, so are you still coming or not?"

Lucy gulped as Natsu mentioned the words 'Big Monster', before remembering that Lisanna had said, _"He'll take care of you if he has to. He's still Natsu after all."_

"I-I'll go… I can still help. Thank you for the cloak."

Natsu paused for a moment, looking at Lucy, before saying, "I see. Since you're sure, stay close."

"I will." She paused before adding, "Aren't you cold without the cloak though?"

"No." was all that was forthcoming from the level headed Natsu walking in front of her. The snow seemed to melt around him a little, making the path easier for her to traverse behind him. _Wow, must be part of that fire magic stuff they were talking about. Probably why he's not cold either…_

Natsu seemed rather unusual to her. Usually, if you were searching for someone, you would shout their name, and listen out for a reply. While up in the mountains it might not be as effective, just knowing their goal was around was a good idea. However, he seemed to be sniffing the air from time to time, and adjusting the direction he was travelling in based upon that. Finally, she couldn't hold back her question any longer.

"Why are you sniffing around?"

"I have a good nose. I'm tracking his scent." He replied. He then carried on as though nothing unusual had happened.

Lucy looked flabbergasted. _Tracking his scent? Is he some sort of weird animal or something?_

A sudden roar caught their attention as a large muscled gorilla-like creature with white fur and a black skinned chest dropped down from the cliff above them. Natsu was caught off guard for a moment before catching himself and turning around to see the Vulcan dancing around Lucy, who was for some reason inside a clock.

"Human woman." It growled then licked its lips before grabbing the clock with Lucy inside and running away. A faint cry of help was heard over the raging blizzard.

"Damn it!" yelled Natsu, as he reacted too late to stop the Vulcan from getting away. He then stopped in his tracks suddenly, as he realised what had actually happened. Memories of The Beast began to surface, causing him to shudder slightly. _Not this again… Why now?_

* * *

**_Near the summit of … _**

"How did I get myself in this mess? What's with the giant monkey? Why is he so excited?" she asks tearfully. The clock seemed to be speaking for her, because her voice couldn't be heard from inside it. The strange beast was dancing around the clock oddly, chanting 'Human Woman' with a perverted grin on its face.

Finally, it grabbed the sides of the clock, pressed its face to the glass before saying "Woman". Lucy was now terrified at this point. _I'm an idiot, I should've gone back when I had a chance, why me?_

Sadly though, the clock now vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a Lucy behind, and unprotected from the extremely eager beast.

"_WHERE DID YOU GO HOROLOGIUM!? DON'T DISAPPEAR ON ME!_" she cried.

A faint voice was heard saying "Sorry milady, my time is up"

"_GIVE ME AN EXTENSION! PLEASE!_"

Unfortunately, no extension was given, as the beast now outstretched its hands towards Lucy, who was quivering in fear.

Suddenly though, the beast was thrown back away from Lucy. Natsu appeared where it was just moments ago. He seemed slightly nervous, but shook himself before asking, "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yes thank you!" gasped Lucy.

"I see. I need to deal with Macao. Please wait here."

"Macao!?" she asked loudly, but no answer was given, Natsu was focused on the Vulcan who was now recovering from his trip into the cavern wall.

The Vulcan looked pissed. "My woman!" it growled. It seemed to see Natsu as a rival for Lucy, and jumped at Natsu, swinging a large fist. Natsu ducked under this attack, before grabbing the tail as the Vulcan passed by. He then quickly pulled the tail taught, and slammed the beast down on its back by swinging it over his shoulder.

The Vulcan then stood up angrily before suddenly noticing that his enemy had vanished. He took one look at Lucy before running towards her. However, a foot landed on his head, smashing him down face first into the floor, while he slid forward from his momentum. Natsu had jumped up over the Vulcan before he could see him, in order to hit him hard in a weak spot.

Before the Vulcan could get to its feet again, Natsu slammed an uppercut into its jaw, flipping it over in the air, before landing on its back with a heavy crash, where it lay unconscious.

Lucy tentatively walked over to where Natsu was, where he was studying the unconscious beast with a slightly tense look on his face. He shook himself out of his contemplative mood, before slapping the beast's face lightly, "Come on Macao, wake up."

"Huh!?" cried Lucy.

Her unasked question was answered however, as the beast now formed back into a slim middle aged man with slicked back blue hair, and a few injuries and battle wounds on his body.

"He needs a bit of first aid." said Natsu.

While Natsu was tending to the unconscious Macao, Lucy studied the look on Natsu's face. While he seemed rightfully concerned of Macao's condition, he also seemed to be a little shaken from something other than that. Lucy pushed this thought out of her mind though, as she now asked Natsu, "Why was Macao that big beast?"

"It's a Vulcan. They take over bodies to extend their lifespan. Most wizards would normally be able to fight off its control, but Macao was already injured from dealing with the others. They're basically body snatchers." he explained.

"There are more of those things!?" cried Lucy.

"Probably not, Macao must have dealt with the others, and got taken over by this one, or we would have seen more of them."

At this point, Macao groaned as he flickered back into consciousness.

"N-Natsu…?" he managed to speak as he saw his face. "But you don't take missions anymore. Why are you here?"

"I wouldn't normally bother. Sorry, but I was only doing this because of Romeo." he stated. "Now take it easy. You were already injured before I dealt with you, it'll only feel worse if you move around too soon."

"I-I'm pathetic." He said dully. "I beat nineteen of those things, but the twentieth got me. It's embarrassing, what am I going to say to Romeo?"

"You beat nineteen of those monsters!?" exclaimed Lucy. "Wha…"

"I'd say from her reaction, it's impressive enough." Natsu smiled slightly. "She's new by the way."

"Ha… nice to meet you…?"

"Lucy" she smiled.

"Nice to meet you Lucy." he smiled.

"Thanks for coming Natsu. I understand it must be diff…" started Macao.

"Don't mention it." interjected Natsu. "It's fine now."

Lucy frowned slightly at the short exchange between the two. _Was he talking about…?_

* * *

**_At the Macao Residence…_**

Romeo was sat on the porch of his house, tearing up slightly as he remembered the kids teasing him about his father, for being a Fairy Tail wizard. He remembered asking his dad to take a mission, so they would stop picking on him. He wanted them to see how great his dad really was, but was regretting bringing it up, since he had yet to return.

"Hey Romeo!" called out someone.

Walking down the road next to Natsu and Lucy, looking a little beaten up but otherwise none the worse for wear, was his father Macao, with a big grin on his face.

Romeo cried as he ran to hug his father, he had been very worried. "I'm so sorry dad! You took a dangerous mission because of me! I thought I'd lost you…"

"Hmm, I should be the one who's sorry. Sorry for making you worry, that is." He replied with a chuckle.

"I should be able to handle it. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard's son." sniffled Romeo.

"Next time anyone tells you something bad about your daddy, just tell them, 'Can your dad beat up nineteen big monsters, because mine can!'"

Romeo cheered, "You're awesome dad!" wiping his tears away, he turned to Natsu. He was slightly surprised to see him, but thanked him happily. "Thank you for finding my dad Natsu-nii!"

Natsu simply held up his hand in response, before walking back in the direction of the guild, Lucy speeding up slightly to catch up with him.

"Hey… will Macao be alright? He won't turn into that big beast again will he?" she asked nervously.

"No. The Vulcan is long gone, he'll be fine." he stated. "You following me back to the guild?"

"Uh yeah, I think I will, I still have things I need to take care of" Lucy replied.

"Ok then."

The sun started setting as they walked back to the guild, signalling that the day would soon be over.

_I think it was worth it in the end…_ Natsu thought to himself.

* * *

**Happy days. I'm actually happy enough that I've written this chapter with enough content to cover the scope of the Macao mission thingamajig. Slight hints of Natsu being nervous of missions, as expected, it's the first time he's done one since he got back… whether he had done one during the missing year, we'll see.**

**They'll be back at the guild next chapter, and will start the next part of the storyline.**

**As always, please enjoy, and review if you wish.**


	10. Mission Finder

**Chapter Ten : Mission Finder**

* * *

The sun had just about set beyond the horizon, when Natsu and Lucy arrived back at the guild. Night was drawing slowly closer, but the day had yet to end.

As it turns out, Cana had started a betting pool on how long it would take Natsu to rescue Macao, and return to the guild. Various people were underestimating his abilities, since he hadn't taken a mission or seemingly done any training since his return, more than a year ago. As such, when he walked in only 5 hours after setting off, Cana raked in the cash with relish, no one had seen it coming. Most were betting it would take him the better part of the day to deal with it, but he beat that with several hours to spare. Natsu had given no inclination that he cared about the bet, merely walking past the now crying people who had lost a good sum of jewels, and sat himself at the bar.

Lisanna walked over to Lucy with Gray and Makarov, to hear the specifics of what had happened, leaving Mira with Natsu.

Natsu had given no impression that he was about to talk anytime soon, so Mira broke the silence for him. "How is Macao?"

"Not too bad." he replied dully.

"Uh… any trouble up there?" she asked nervously.

"Lucy got herself kidnapped." He replied simply. His expression hadn't changed since they started talking, and he wasn't giving out much detail. So instead, Mira busied herself in getting him a drink and some food, the silence was slightly unnerving for her. She knew Natsu was often like this, but it still got to her at times. Sometimes she couldn't help but hope the old Natsu was talking to her, but so far her hopes had been unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, with Lucy, Gray was now exclaiming "You got yourself kidnapped!?"

"It wasn't quite that bad! And can you put some clothes on!?" she cried out. Again, another string of expletives were uttered from Gray's mouth while he ran around searching for his, yet again, missing clothes.

"Well. I can deduce that Macao was the Vulcan that kidnapped you." stated Makarov. "What I'm more interested to know is how Natsu dealt with him."

"Well he was great! He beat up the Vulcan with his bare hands." exclaimed Lucy.

"Bare hands? Wasn't he using magic?" asked Lisanna. "Natsu's magic uses flames when he attacks, what about that?"

"Hmm no, he didn't use any fire magic. He didn't need to did he?" Lucy asked. "He seemed more than capable of beating up the Vulcan. He wasn't even tired after!"

"I don't know whether that's good news or bad news to be honest." stated Makarov. "It could be good news that he can beat a Vulcan with his bare hands, but…"

"Ha. I could beat a Vulcan with my bare hands if I wanted to." scowled Gray, who was now back wearing his clothes.

Makarov flashed him a quick glare before continuing, "…but I'm concerned that he's refusing to use magic at all. It could be as you say, he didn't need to, but nobody has seen him use magic once since he returned." Makarov frowned slightly as he weighed up the facts. "I think we should try and get him on another mission. I need to know what he's actually doing, for his sake. He's still an S-Class mage, and definitely capable of doing missions."

"Leave that to me master, I'll get him to pick out a mission to take Lucy on" Lisanna said smiling. "I'm sure me and Mira-nee can convince him."

"At least he listens to you two from time to time. Even I couldn't convince him to do anything." Makarov frowned. "I'll leave it to you."

In the background Gray was still cursing and muttering under his breath. It was mostly unintelligible, but fragments of it could be picked up, such as 'Vulcan' , 'Natsu' and 'Bare hands'.

"I hope that's okay with you Lucy. He knows you better than we do, so he might just be the right person to choose." asserted Makarov.

"That's fine." Lucy smiled, before looking at the time in horror. "Oh god, I have to go sort out my apartment!" before dashing out of the guild hall.

* * *

**_Back with Mira and Natsu…_**

Natsu had thanked Mira for his food and drink, before returning to silence and pondering the thoughts in his mind.

This was interrupted by Lisanna calling out "Mira-Nee! Natsu!" as she made her way over to them. Natsu gave her a slight acknowledgment before zoning out again.

Lisanna whispered to her sister, "Help me out with this please…" before turning to Natsu and asking him, "Hey Natsu! How was your trip with Lucy?"

Natsu simply said "Fine." and left it at that.

"I was wondering… since you know Lucy better than any of us, could you pick out a mission for her? She's busy right now, and wants to find a good one for her as her first real mission." Lisanna asked this carefully, she avoided mentioning 'for the both of you' as she expected Natsu to flat out refuse.

"You can do that." He replied.

Lisanna glanced at her sister for a moment, and inclined for Mira to help her out. Mira got the message and smiled slightly before turning her attention to Natsu.

"You know… You could just pick out a mission for her. It's not too hard is it?" Mira asked.

Natsu looked at her for a moment, before noticing her 'Pretty Please?' smile, and inwardly cursed. _She's not going to let this go without getting what she wants is she?_

Lisanna also got in on the action with a smile of her own, leaving Natsu caught between a rock and a hard place.

Several of the guild members noticed what was happening and were whispering, _'Poor guy. He's not going to have any choice but to do what those two want. That's a deadly combination.'_

Again Natsu complained inside his head. _Why the heck am I the one who's got to do this? Something's up here!_

Natsu then growled in irritation, as he stood up and walked over to the requests board to pick out a mission.

Jaws dropped. _He's picking a mission!? That's some persuasion._

He looked over the board for a few moments before picking one off and taking it back over to Mira.

He glanced at them for a moment before saying, "I'm not going on this one. She can take Gray instead, he's still upset."

Lisanna groaned at his words. _Dammit. I thought that worked! I always used to beat him an argument when we were younger too! _

He then walked out to head home, leaving the request on the bar counter for Mira and Lisanna to look at.

Mira giggled for a moment as she read it. "He may not be the Natsu we once knew, but he still has a sense of humour." Lisanna could only help but agree when she saw what the mission details were.

* * *

**_At Lucy's apartment…_**

"Ok. How did you find my apartment so soon, and why did you break in!?" shouted an irate Lucy. "And you're naked!"

She had woken up in the morning to get ready to visit the guild, and instead, she found Gray sitting on her sofa naked, and a weird blue 'cat' on her desk, reading through some papers.

After a few heated moments where she started beating the 'cat' for reading her 'secret' work, and kicking Gray in the groin several times for good measure, a knock at the door came from one Mirajane Strauss who now joined them.

They were now sitting around the table drinking tea, after Gray found his clothes again.

"So why are you guys here?" Lucy asked.

"Ah… Natsu picked out a mission for you." Mira smiled giving off a faint dark aura, which gave everyone else the chills.

"Flame-brain isn't going to do the mission, so I'm helping instead." stated Gray. "And Lisanna wanted the cat to come with you."

"Hey! My name's Happy!" he squeaked.

"Yeah whatever." grumbled Gray. He was still annoyed that he was filling in on a mission Natsu was supposed to have picked.

"So what's the mission?" asked Lucy.

Mira simply handed her the request sheet with a smile on her face, while Gray and Happy also seemed slightly amused.

"Wow, two hundred thousand jewels to steal a book from some rich guy named Duke Everlue!" she exclaimed.

"It's a piece of fish!" exclaimed Happy, as he started chuckling darkly, along with the occasional snicker from Gray.

Lucy's enthusiasm was short-lived. It was now painfully obvious to her; Natsu had only one thing in mind when he picked it. A chubby man with a curly moustache and perverted smile was Duke Everlue, but what freaked her out was simply a part of the mission information.

**'Duke Everlue is looking for maids with Blonde Hair'**

"Oh god no!" she cried.

Too late.

* * *

**_A little while later at the guild house…_**

"Did someone already take the book stealing mission?" inquired a small Blue haired girl called Levy. She was standing around with her team, Shadow Gear, made up of two other members, Jet and Droy.

"I'm sorry Levy, but Natsu picked out that mission last night for one of our new recruits to do. We didn't manage to get him to go on the mission though." Mirajane said as she walked up to them.

"Aw. That was one of the best missions on the board for the reward too!" exclaimed Levy, pouting slightly.

"Don't worry about it Levy. They've changed it a bit." interjected Makarov. This caught the attention of Natsu who was sitting at the bar again, but he made no motion to show that he was now listening.

Mira frowned slightly. "What do you mean master? Was it cancelled?"

"No, just the opposite actually. The client informed me the reward has gone up." He answered. Now knowing he had their attention, he continued, "The reward is now two million jewels." he smiled at that.

A tinkling noise could be heard, as Natsu involuntarily dropped his glass.

Makarov chuckled. "Got your attention did I?"

"Kinda." he muttered, before turning away.

"Two million jewels!?" exclaimed Levy. "And Natsu picked it? NATSU! Pick one for me!"

"Do what!?" he asked slightly shocked by her question.

"You probably should Natsu, you might be a good luck charm." giggled Mira.

Before he could protest, Levy dragged him away from the bar by his arm and pulled him over to the request board. Jet and Droy also stood around him, blocking his escape route.

_Damn. They're getting more aggressive._ He thought to himself.

While he busied himself with browsing the requests, a messenger bird flew in and headed over to Makarov.

"Message for Master Makarov from Erza Scarlet." It chirped. He took the letter from the bird and opened the seal to see a small image of Erza appear. It was based on a recording type of Lacrima. A visual message could be recorded, and played back to the recipient.

"Hello Master. I hope you are well. I am just letting you know, the mission went well, and I will be returning to the guild in a few days. Makarov listened as Erza listed off the mission results, before the message ended with "Goodbye."

"Well that's good news." stated Makarov.

Although the same could not be said for many in the guild. The Erza Glare was truly legendary, and every bit as frightening as the legends foretold. Doom was approaching.

* * *

**That's this chapter done. Lucy, Gray and Happy will do their mission in the next one, erza returns etc.**

**I'm happy with it, so please enjoy. (And this is the third chapter today you lucky people – it'll be four, I intend to complete the next one for today too)**

**As always, leave a review, etc.**


	11. Daybreak

**Chapter Eleven : Daybreak**

* * *

"Now that I think about it, this job seems really easy." Lucy said, as she glanced over at Gray and Happy, who were sat in a wagon seat opposite her. They were travelling to Shirotsume Town to fulfil a request to steal a book from a rich man called Duke Everlue.

"Your mood seems to have improved from earlier." stated Gray, who was fully clothed for a change.

"Yeah, you seem really interested now!" Happy commented, while eating a small fish.

"It is my first job after all. I should be excited!" proclaimed Lucy with a grin. "I just know I'll be able to do it, all I need to do is sneak into the mansion and get the book after all."

"A perverted old man's mansion." added Happy with a smirk.

Lucy paled slightly as she repeated, "A… perverted old man's mansion…"

"Who cares, with my sexy body, it'll be easy to get inside!" she declared, stars in her eyes.

"Humans all look kind of alike to me." commented Happy, causing Lucy's eye to twitch slightly. _Did that cat just insult me?_

"Who says it's going to work anyway?" interjected Gray. "We should have a plan B at least."

"Are you claiming that Plan A won't work?" Lucy looked rather angry now, giving Gray cause for concern, as he clamped his mouth shut to avoid saying anything he shouldn't.

"Plan A never seems to work." said Happy. _You poor fool. _Gray thought.

*WHACK* Lucy slammed her fist down on Happy's head, knocking him out. Gray could only look on in horror. _Women… are scary…_ He didn't dare say that though. An angry woman was one of his worst fears. Erza had beaten enough sense into him on many occasions; the lessons were starting to stick.

* * *

**_Arrival in Shirotsume Town…_**

"Finally here!" announced Lucy.

Gray stepped off the wagon holding the still unconscious Happy by his tail. "Lisanna's going to kill me… I just know Happy won't dare say anything about Lucy to her. She's terrifying." he muttered.

"What was that?" asked an unusually happy Lucy.

"Uh… nothing, nothing." gulped Gray. _That was close…_

"Anyway, I'm going to get something to eat, and deal with the knocked out cat. What about you?"

"I'll just look around town for a little while. I'll see you at that restaurant over there." replied Lucy.

After waking up Happy, they were having a light meal, with Happy eating a large piece of salmon, one of his favourite fish.

"So what do you think of her so far?" asked Gray.

"She looks like she would be heavy." replied Happy simply.

"What did you say cat?" an annoyed voice spoke from behind him.

"Oh hi Lucy!" he squeaked.

Gray turned around for a moment, to suddenly look at her shock. Lucy was wearing a maid uniform, much to Happy and Gray's surprise.

"Cute huh?" Lucy asked. "This is mission is as good as done!"

Gray couldn't help but think that she did look cute, but pushed it out of his mind; he was here to do a job.

After they had all finished their preparations, they arrived in front of a mansion. Lucy looked amazed at the sight of it, but Gray interrupted her musing.

"Yeah this is the place the clients told us to go to." he said.

"Hey anyone here!?" he called out as he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a voiced called out.

"We're the wizards from Fairy-"Gray started saying, before he was interrupted.

"Please lower your voice! Can you please enter through the back door?"

The three of them were now quite confused, but went over to the back door nonetheless, where they were let in by the client and his wife.

"I'm sorry about that." The man apologised. "I'm the client, Kaby Melon, and this is my wife."

"Melon!" cheered Happy.

Lucy was about to berate Happy for being rude, but one look at Gray put that on the backburner. "Gray. _Where are your clothes!?_"

Kaby and his wife looked incredulously at the scene in front of them. Gray was running around in a panic searching for his clothes, he had somehow stripped himself during the introduction, the talking cat was evading a blonde maid as she tried to catch him; it was like a scene out of some strange work of fiction.

Finally, the commotion settled down, and the three of them were sat on the couch, looking as though nothing strange had just happened. Kaby had half a mind to throw them out and pray to god that someone else came calling instead.

"A-Anyway…" Kaby stuttered. "Who would you three be?"

"I'm Happy"

"I'm Gray"

"And I'm Lucy."

"N-Nice to meet you…" nodded Kaby. "But could I ask why you are wearing a maid uniform?"

"It's for the mission, Duke Everlue is supposed to be recruiting blonde maids and we were going to sneak Lucy in to steal the book that way." Gray explained for Lucy.

"I see…" Kaby cleared his throat before getting down to business.

"The job is simple. All I want you to do is to find a book called 'Daybreak', which Duke Everlue owns, and destroy it."

"So you don't want to steal it?" asked a confused Lucy.

"Well since I'm asking you to destroy it, you could call it stealing." explained Kaby.

"Sounds easy enough." stated Gray.

"If you don't mind me asking… What is this book? You're willing to pay two hundred thousand jewels to destroy it, so it must be important." Lucy asked.

"Actually, I'll pay two million." Kaby elaborated.

Happy, Gray and Lucy's jaws dropped at this revelation, before shouting in unison.

"_T-TWO MILLION!?_"

"I see you weren't aware of the award increase?"

"W-Why two million?" asked Lucy, now having gotten over her shock and surprise, and was now looking at Kaby thoughtfully.

"I just can't forgive the existence of that book." he stated.

Lucy was confused at this, but Gray and Happy shrugged it off.

"Whatever, the job seems easy enough." shrugged Gray.

"…Darling, are you sure those kids will be alright with this job?" Kaby's wife asked as the two watched the wizards leave. "The previous guild that tried it last week had failed, and from the Duke's standpoint it was a nothing but a failed robbery. The security must have been tightened, so it will be even more difficult getting into the mansion."

"I am aware of that…but…I just need to remove that book from this world." Kaby replied as he stared at the floor.

* * *

**_At Duke Everlue's Mansion…_**

"Excuse me! I heard you had an opening for a maid position!" shouted Lucy, who was now stood outside the large Mansion with tall wrought iron gates, belonging to Duke Everlue. Happy and Gray were both watching carefully from behind a tree nearby.

Lucy didn't have to wait long before a giant maid burst out of the ground in front of her, with a plump man with a moustache on her shoulders. Lucy deduced that this was Duke Everlue, but the maid was… to put it in gentle words… _ugly_.

After a few words, and the appearance of a few other maids, all as equally ugly as the last, Lucy was unceremoniously picked up and tossed away by the giant maid. The Duke and his maids then headed back into the mansion after Lucy had been thrown away.

Gray and Happy stood in front of Lucy as she cried, "I thought you said you could easily get inside." Happy said, reminding her of what she said that morning. "_I TRIED, BUT THAT PERVERTED IDIOT WOULDN'T KNOW BEAUTY IF IT KICKED HIM IN THE CROTCH!_" Lucy yelled as more tears came to her eyes. "_YOU SAW THOSE WOMEN RIGHT!?_"

"Don't remind me!" snapped Gray. He had been horrified at the sight of those hulking brutes and monstrosities that Duke Everlue deemed beautiful. He had some standards after all.

"That bastard is going to pay for this!" screeched Lucy.

Gray sighed. "Time for Plan B."

Unbeknownst to them, Duke Everlue was watching them trespass on his grounds with surveillance lacrima. _Another group of wizards have come to my doors, despite the failure of the last ones. It seems this group is from Fairy Tail. The girl was pretty stupid not to cover up her mark… _

He then turned in his chair to look at two figures in the shadows. _So how shall I have them killed this time?_

* * *

**_A short while later…_**

"So why are we sneaking in this way?" asked a confused Happy. He had carried both Lucy and Gray to the roof of the mansion with his wings.

"We should enter from somewhere unexpected." explained Gray, as he pried open a window before slipping inside, Lucy and Happy following him in.

* * *

**_Inside…_**

Lucy, Happy and Gray had been searching for a while now, and they had yet to find the book.

Gray was growing impatient with his searching. "Just how many books can one person have!?" he grumbled.

"Shh!" hissed Lucy. "We don't want to get caught, so quiet down!"

"Whatever you say…" Gray said under his breath.

It wasn't long though, before 5 maids sprang out of the ground, each holding some kind of weapon. "_INTRUDERS!_" they shouted in unison, before charging at Gray.

Gray simply stood his ground and held his arms out in front, "**_Ice-Make: Lance!_**" Several lances made out of ice were created and then shot forward at the maids, knocking them all out in one move. Gray couldn't help but almost throw up from seeing them much closer than he had before. Lucy was looking at him, surprised at how easily he had dealt with them, and slightly impressed.

Happy then suddenly shouted out in jubilation, "I found Daybreak!" He appeared, flying around the corner of a bookcase, holding a golden coloured book, before dropping it in Gray's hands.

"Ah great. We can get this over with." sighed Gray.

However, Lucy suddenly snatched it out of his hands, eyes as wide as dinner-plates. "T-This is by Kemu Zaleon!" she gasped.

"Who?" Gray frowned.

"He was a mage and a writer as well." Lucy explained. "I'm a big fan of his! I had thought I read all of his books, but I can't believe there was one I never heard of before; it must be one that was never published!"

"And this is supposed to mean something? Hurry up and give me the book so I can destroy it will you?" Gray made a grab for the book, but Lucy pulled it away from it, and wrapped her arms around it protectively.

"W-We can't just destroy a great work of literature like this one!" she retorted.

"But this is our job!" stated Gray.

"Oh come on, can't we just pretend we destroyed it? I won't tell anyone, I swear!" pleaded Lucy.

"A Fairy Tail Wizard shouldn't lie about a job." Gray said. He looked a little annoyed with how lightly Lucy seemed to be taking her responsibility. Gray was more rigid when it came to completing jobs and following the rules set out for the guild. Despite this, he still had the weird stripping tendency. It was practically a rule that Gray had to wear clothes, considering how frequently he seemed to visit the guild half naked.

He made a grab for the book again, before a voice caught their attention.

"Well well… what do we have here?" as a figure appeared near them. This figure was a certain smiling Duke Everlue, which gave Lucy the chills. "I knew I would find out what you were after if I let you do what you wanted. I'm so smart aren't I?" he stated, before laughing creepily.

"Oh just great. We could have been done with this if you weren't so adamant on keeping the book." groaned Gray.

"I'm sorry…" said Lucy.

"I knew you wizards were looking to steal from me, but I didn't guess that it was for that stupid book." Everlue said.

"That works out great, if you think it's stupid, mind if we keep it?" Lucy asked cheerfully.

"No way, it's mine, even if it's stupid!" spat Everlue.

"Stingy." Lucy commented.

"Look we're just here to destroy the book. Hand it over Lucy." Gray demanded.

"No I'm not giving it to you!" whined Lucy.

"This is our job!" snapped Gray.

"Well at least let me read it first!" huffed Lucy, as she sat down on the floor before putting on a pair of glasses.

"You're reading it here?!" Gray, Happy and Everlue exclaimed in shock. Everlue grew angry as the girl read the book.

"Enough of this rubbish! How dare you put your filthy hands on my book! Come forth, Vanish Brothers!" Everlue ordered with a snap of his fingers. Gray turned his head to see two book shelves begin to move as a secret entrance opened and two figures stood where the shelves had once been.

"You called us sir?" The smaller figure asked. The man had four tattoos on his face, his black hair was in a long ponytail and he was wearing a white high-collar shirt with a green stripe running down the front of it and black pants. On the right sleeve of the shirt was a blue arm band with a white guild symbol on it, and strapped to his back was a large frying pan.

"I can't believe these children are from the Fairy Tail guild, they don't look so tough." The taller figure commented; his hair was a dark navy blue that spiked out in four different directions, he was wearing an orange bandana with blue markings on it on his forehead. He was also wearing an armband, with a white guild symbol on it.

"Gray, look at their armbands! They're from that mercenary guild, the Southern Wolves!" Happy said.

"So he hired bodyguards then." stated Gray, he was acting cautiously and readied for an unavoidable confrontation by getting into a fighting stance. "Lucy, you have until I'm finished with these two to read that book." Lucy nodded her head at this, the pages turning so quickly in her hands that they looked like a blur.

"Buy me some time please, there's some sort of secret to this book." Lucy commented.

"Then you had better go somewhere else to read it." Gray said, stripping off his top, just for good measure.

_A secret? It must have slipped me by when I read it_. Duke Everlue thought, before he began sinking into the ground. "I'm going after the girl! You two eliminate the brat!" ordered Everlue as he vanished.

"Yes sir." the brothers replied.

"Go help Lucy." Gray ordered Happy. "I'll come when I've finished with these two."

"Aye sir!" Happy saluted, before flying off after Lucy.

"You're an Ice-Make wizard right?" interjected the shorter brother.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" asked Gray.

"We were watching when you took out the maids." the taller one answered.

"Enough talk. Lets go." declared Gray, before he attacked with "**_Ice-Make: Hammer!_**"

A large hammer made out of ice appeared above the shorter brother, before swinging down at him. He sped out of the way to avoid the attack, but was caught up in the debris from the collision with the floor, making him stagger slightly.

Gray suddenly was struck with a large fist belonging to the older brother, who had taken the opportunity while Gray was immobile, to get near him and land a blow. The force of the strike was lessened somewhat as he managed to cross his arms in front of him, but still managed to smash him through a wall, and down to the ground floor, where he landed, leaving a small crater.

A large frying pan swung down at him, while he was picking himself up. Gray just barely avoided it by rolling out the way. The smaller brother had recovered from the initial attack, but failed to hit his mark. Coming out of the roll, Gray struck back with an "**_Ice-Make: Lance!_**" which hit the taller brother square in the chest as he jumped down through the hole he had made.

Frustrated at being unable to beat down a so-called Fairy Tail brat, they called out their strongest attack yet. "No mage has experienced this attack and survived!" the shorter one cried. "Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Attack!" they shouted in unison.

Gray watched as the shorter brother sent the taller on into the air with an upward swing; for the second his eyes were on the taller brother, the shorter one charged forward.

"If you face toward the heavens…the earth will attack from below!" The shorter one said as he charged at Gray. He suddenly slipped though, as the floor was now covered in ice, and began skating out of control towards Gray.

"When you face the earth…the heavens strike you down!" The taller one was yelling as he dived at Gray from above with his fists in front of him.

Without missing a beat, Gray struck first, yelling "**_Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!_**" A tower of ice spikes shot out of the ground, striking the brother in the air, before the smaller one crashed headlong into it. As the taller one fell down, he landed on the smaller brother who was struggling to his feet. This caused them both to hit the deck grumbling in pain.

"Are you really a wizard?!" The taller one shouted. "You should have been knocked out from earlier!"

Gray left them no time speak further.

"**_Ice-Make: Hammer!_**"

As the dust settled from the attack, the two brothers were left in a heap, twitching slightly, and unconscious.

* * *

**_With Lucy…_**

Lucy was down in the sewers speeding through the book in her hands, using a pair of magical reading glasses.

"I knew this book contain such a secret, but for it to be such a thing is…amazing." Lucy said as she closed the book. Before she could stand, the wall behind her cracked open and a hand came out and grabbed her wrists in a tight grip. Lucy's glasses fell off from shock as Everlue's face popped out of the wall.

"Why don't you tell me the secret to my book girly!?" Everlue said with an evil grin.

"No way! A pathetic ape like you doesn't deserve to know! You're an enemy of literature!" Lucy retorted, struggling to free herself from his grasp.

"An enemy of literature?! My large collection of books and art disproves that!" Everlue exclaimed while keeping his grip on Lucy's wrist, trying to get her to let go of the book.

"But your ugly maid collection shows you don't know anything about beauty!" Lucy yelled before she let out a small squeal as Everlue's grip got tighter and began hurting her.

"How dare you mock my maids?! They are the definition of beauty!" He said before bringing his head closer to the book. "What secrets does this book hold? Did he leave a treasure map to where he buried his fortune or something? You better tell me now before I snap your arms!" Everlue hissed.

The response to that was Lucy sticking her tongue out at him, infuriating Everlue, before he forced Lucy to the ground. "You really shouldn't be cheeky with me, young lady! I commissioned Kemu Zaleon himself to create that book for me! Therefore any secret that is hidden in this book is rightfully mine!" Everlue proclaimed.

Suddenly, his grip gave way, as she twisted away from him, to see Happy striking Duke Everlue's face with two feet at high speed.

"Happy!" cheered Lucy, as she put some distance between her and Duke Everlue. Happy flew back, but his wings disappeared, dropping him into the sewer water.

"What's this, a flying cat?" Everlue asked as he stared at Happy.

"You should get out of there." Lucy suggested.

"But this water feels so good." Happy complained.

"You're in sewer water!" Lucy sighed before turning to Everlue with a gold key in one hand and the book in the other. "Anyway, if you let us have the book, I'll consider going easy on you. But I am really tempted to thrash you."

"So you're a Celestial Wizard? There's no way you and some stupid cat will be able to defeat me and my Diver magic!" A magic seal appeared on Everlue's back and he sank into the ground.

"So Everlue can use magic as well?" Happy said as he got out of the water and stood next to Lucy.

"This sucks." Lucy said dodging Everlue's attacks as he burst out of the ground at random. She acrobatically dodged as he tried to strike her down. "It's all written here within this book! A horrible adventure story with a trashy main character named Duke Everlue!" Lucy exclaimed angrily.

"Really?" Happy questioned.

"I don't know if the character would be considered trashy, but yes!" Everlue shouted as he continued his attacks. "The story is complete crap and to think it was written by the great Kemu Zaleon, it's inexcusable!"

"How arrogant are you? You forced him to write it!" Lucy retorted as she jump over Everlue's charge.

"Arrogant? Me!? It should be an honour for him to write a story with me in it!" Everlue exclaimed.

"Then why did you have to blackmail him into writing it?" Lucy questioned.

"…Blackmail?" Happy repeated.

"So what's the big deal?" Everlue asked, curling his moustache. "It was his fault for refusing me in the first place!" Everlue said.

"Oh really?" Lucy questioned, her eyes narrowed as the words this guy was saying.

"I told him to write a book where I was the main character; anyone would have jumped at the chance to have me as their muse." Everlue explained. "But that idiot had the audacity to refuse me! So I gave him some inspiration in the form of an ultimatum, either write the book or I would revoke his entire family's citizenship!"

Lucy was silently glaring at the man.

"But I was still annoyed by his first refusal and his attitude, so I made him write the book in one of my personal prisons!" Everlue just cackled as he happily remembered what had happened. "He had talked so big about being a great novelist and one who would never give into threats, _BUT IN THE END I GOT WHAT I WANTED!_" Everlue shouted as he started spinning into a ball and started bouncing all over the place.

"You did such a terrible thing to justify your own selfish desires?! You put him in solitary confinement for three whole years!" Lucy said as she ran.

"Three years?" Happy questioned, flying next to Lucy.

Everlue burst out from the ground in front of Lucy and Happy ready to attack, but Lucy quickly avoided it. "Perhaps it took him that long to finally realize how great and wonderful I am?" Everlue let out a creepy laugh.

"Wrong." Lucy said. "The truth was he couldn't stand you, but he swallowed his pride so he could protect his family, even if it meant satisfying your vanity and making your character seem like a true hero of justice."

"And what would you know!?" Everlue yelled.

"It's all written in this!" Lucy said, holding up the book up in front of her.

"I read that book from start to finish, and Kemu Zaleon is never in it." Everlue stated.

"It's true that if you were to read it normally, his name is never mentioned within the story. But one thing you should know is that before Kemu Zaleon was a writer, he was a wizard!" Lucy said.

"He was?" Happy asked.

"…What did he do…wait, he couldn't have." Everlue muttered to himself.

"He gathered all of his remaining strength, and cast a spell on the book." Lucy explained.

"So that was his scheme, using his magic to turn a book about someone as great as me into a piece of crap! How dare he!?" Everlue exclaimed as he used his magic to dive back into the ground and attack Lucy once more, but his attack missed as Lucy jumped away.

"You really need to get over yourself; it's true that this book contains all the terrible things you've done to him!" Lucy said while dodging all of Everlue's attacks. "But it was only a very small part; the true secret that Kemu Zaleon left behind in this book has nothing to do with you!"

"What is it?" Happy asked with his mouth salivating at the thought of what kind of secret it is. "Is it where to catch the best fish?"

"What true secret?" Everlue questioned.

"That's why I refuse to let you have this book. Because you never its true owner in the first place! **_Open, Gate of the Giant Crab - Cancer!_**" Lucy chanted as a magic seal appeared; releasing a large amount of smoke before clearing away to reveal a man wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt and dark pants with a ring chain on his right leg. There were six orange crab legs extending from his back, and two antennas on his head above his red hair. He had two large pairs of scissors rested with handles that resembled claws in each hand.

"It's a giant crab-man! I bet he's going to say 'kani' at the end! I'm sure of it!" Happy shouted happily.

"So Lucy..." Cancer spoke, lifting his hand to show a small blade. "...which haircut would you like-ebi?"

"I didn't call you for that!" Lucy exclaimed. "I need your help with a battle!"

"Alright-ebi." Cancer replied as he got into a battle position.

"Ebi!?" Happy yelled in complete shock. He then started crying against Lucy's shoulder. "It's like getting a hook when you were expecting a straight punch. Okay Lucy...you can send him back now."

"SHUT IT CAT!"

'_The true secret? What could it be that…did that bastard write down all the illegal business deals that I've done?' _Everlue thought while shaking with fear. '_I can't have that… If that book gets handed over to the council, it would be the end of me_!' Everlue quickly reached into his jacket and pulled out a gold key. "**_Open, Gate of the Maiden – Virgo!_****"**

"That's the magic that you use Lucy!" Happy exclaimed in surprise.

"No way!" Lucy said.

The giant maid, Virgo burst out of the magical seal on the ground. "Did I hear my master summon me?" She shouted.

"Virgo, retrieve that book immediately!" Everlue ordered.

"I don't believe it, she's a Celestial Spirit!" A shocked Lucy said.

"**_Ice-Make : Lance!_**" yelled a voice from behind her. Gray had just arrived, and threw an attack at Virgo. The attack connected before Virgo had a chance to do anything, knocking her down, and causing her to disappear in a puff of smoke.

Lucy took advantage of the situation by pulling out her whip, and tangling a stunned Duke Everlue in it.

"Alright Cancer! Do it!" she yelled.

The giant crab man charged at Duke Everlue, before his claws started moving in a blur.

Everlue landed on the floor, now missing his moustache and hair, and utterly knocked out.

"Nice job Lucy." Gray complimented her. "Now we should probably get out of here."

* * *

**_Outside the mansion…_**

"Well that's a job done. Those Vanish Brothers weren't much either." Gray said with a smile on his face.

This soon turned into shock, as a giant spiky ice pillar was visible coming right out of the middle of the mansion. It suddenly shattered, and the mansions started to shake, before collapsing completely, leaving a pile of rubble. Gray's jaw dropped, and he turned white as a sheet.

"Oh crap." all three said in unison.

* * *

**_Back with the clients…_**

"You're back… Did you…?" Kaby asked hopefully.

"Not exactly..." Lucy muttered as she walked towards him and handed him the book.

"Why did you bring it here? I told you I wanted you to destroy it." He said incredulously.

"While destroying it is a simple task for us; if you still want to, it would be better if you destroyed it yourself." Lucy said.

"Of course I'll destroy it; I never wanted to see this book!" Kaby said as he stared at the book.

"I understand why you refuse to allow this book to exist. You just want to protect your father's honor, right? Because you are in fact Kemu Zaleon's son." Lucy stated shocking Gray and Happy.

"Yes…that's right." Kaby nodded his head.

"Have you read the book yourself?" Lucy asked.

"No, I could never bring myself to read it. My father had told me it was complete trash." Kaby admitted.

"That's why you want to destroy it?" Gray questioned.

"Yes. That's right." Kaby answered.

"You should at least read it." Happy chimed in.

"Give him a chance to explain Happy." said Lucy.

Kaby was silent for a few moments before speaking; he told them about what had happened all those years ago, when his father returned after being gone for three years and then cutting off his writing arm, trying to kill himself, and the last conversation they had before he died.

"All the anger I felt slowly turned to remorse to the father that I never was able to apologize to." Kaby said. "Because of that, I felt the least I could do for him was to destroy this horrible book that had brought so much unhappiness. I know my father would agree." He then lit a match and moved it closer to the book.

"You're wrong about that." Lucy spoke out, making Kaby look at them in surprise; the match's flame suddenly died and the book started to glow.

"What's happening!?" Kaby shouted as he covered his eyes from the bright light.

"A wizard by the name of Kemu Zaleon, or I should say Zekua Melon, cast a spell on this book." Lucy explained.

"A spell?" Kaby questioned as he started at the book floating in front of him. The title on the cover of the book began to rearrange itself and revealed itself to say, Dear Kaby.

"Dear Kaby?" Kaby read as he saw the title of the book.

"That's right! It was a three year letter he had written to his beloved son. He casted a spell over it to rearrange all the letters in the book, so no one else would be able to read it!" As Lucy explained, all the letters in the book shot out and started to rearrange themselves; everyone was amazed as the words circled around them.

"It may have been the worst book he had ever written, but it was also a masterpiece, just for you." she continued.

Gray and Happy smiled as Kaby hugged the book closer to his chest. "T-Thank you… I won't let any harm come to this book..."

"Alright then, now that's all settled we should head back to Fairy Tail for some fish!" Happy said with a grin before flying towards the door.

"Alright, since we're done here." Gray agreed as he started to follow.

"B-But what about the reward?" stuttered Lucy.

"Since we didn't actually do what the client requested, we shouldn't take one." stated Gray.

Lucy looked rather disappointed, but reluctantly agreed. Kaby and his wife bid them a fond farewell, watching the three of them head back as the sun started to set.

* * *

**UWAAAAGH! FINALLY! Sorry about taking my time with this chapter, it's far longer than the others. I also seem to get less motivated when I can't include the main character. /sad face /profuse apologies**

**This is really similar to the conversations in anime/manga so it shouldn't be too unfamiliar to people familiar with that, only difference being a team of Gray, Lucy and Happy.**

**Next time – You'll see more Natsu for sure(whew), and definitely one Scarlet haired terror.**

**Enjoy! And please leave a review! ALSO: Please leave some new move ideas, I plan to show Natsu with a variety of moves in the future. Leave a short description and name if you think of something good! I'll also have some of my own ideas around as well.**


	12. Moving on with Strawberry Cake

**Chapter Twelve : Moving on with Strawberry Cake**

* * *

It had been a few hours since Gray and Happy had taken Lucy on her first mission, and the guild was rather quiet. Just a few people were still hanging around, drinking, smoking or having a quiet conversation. Natsu was sitting at the bar, hood over his head, in deep thought, drinking whisky. The warmth from drinking whisky was why he favoured it; it complemented the 'inner flame' he had. Meanwhile, Macao and Wakaba were having a hushed debate about the best pin up girls from Sorcerer's Weekly, their favourite topic.

"Mira, I want another barrel of beer…" Cana asked, slightly tipsy after consuming about 5 barrels during the course of the day so far. Everyone always wondered who she got her alcohol resistance from, since even Macao, who had been a prolific drinker most of his life, never managed to match her in a drinking contest.

"I'm tempted to say no…" Mira smirked devilishly, as Cana started begging profusely.

"Anything but that! I'll do anything if you get me another one!" she cried.

"Anything…?" Mira asked with a slightly demonic giggle. "I'll hold you to that…"

Oh crap! Cana paled slightly, as she was now in debt to the demon. Mira might act sweet, but she still had plenty of the old demon inside her. Cana wasn't about to deny herself the chance of another drink, though she would probably want to be absolutely drunk, so she wouldn't remember anything Mira made her do.

"Natsu." Mira spoke to him. Natsu paused drinking for a moment, but didn't respond.

"Can you go fetch a few barrels from the downstairs storage for me? I'd do it, but Elfman has been pining for me for a while now…"

"How many is she having?" was the terse response.

"No more than two. I don't want to have to resort to unpleasant measures if she has more than that." Mira replied. "Just keep an eye on the bar for a little while."

"It's not like I have plans." Natsu replied dully.

"Yes… well… just handle things for me please?" Mira said softly.

"Ok." Natsu responded, before downing his drink. He then walked off to the basement, to collect more barrels of the booze. Mira had a tendency to set aside barrels with Cana's name on it, to limit how much she was allowed. Unfortunately, Cana often managed to sneak barrels out, with Makarov's assistance; his love of beer (and uninhibited women…) compelled him to help her in the pursuit of a completely inebriated state.

Elfman was in conversation with a slightly troubled Makarov. As Mira made her way over to the pair; Makarov inclined to her, giving a small greeting. This was mirrored by Elfman, though much more nervously.

Mira frowned slightly, "You're talking about Natsu again aren't you?" When neither responded to her after a few moments, she spoke again. "I'm not mad at you, but talking about him like this is… troubling. I don't enjoy it, even if you're trying to figure out a way to help him. It's been two years now, I just don't know what more any of us could do…" Mira's face fell; she was inwardly frustrated and angry with herself. _If I had been stronger… Things wouldn't be like this… It's my fault…_ This wasn't the first time she had thought this, Natsu had once denied her claims on this topic, but she still had doubts on his sincerity, especially since much of his fiery spirit had been lost if not irrevocably gone. He had never recovered, and Mira had been stuck in limbo with her doubts ever since.

"Nee-Chan, it's just that Natsu seems even worse than before. Something happened with Macao apparently. He seems… so sad." Elfman mumbled. _(Apparently, really serious talks makes Elfman seem mature and less 'Man!'. Just bear with me on that one.)_

"I know he saved Macao, but that must have caused him to recall unpleasant past events. Most likely some issues with Take Over magic…" Makarov added softly.

Mira and Elfman shuddered at that. They were definitely aware of what issues Makarov was talking about. Elfman had never used a Full-Body takeover since that day, only performing partial takeovers. Lisanna had only recently began using her takeover magic when Natsu had returned from the dead, but Mirajane had never performed another takeover of any kind since, and had taken up a position as a barmaid in the guild.

"T-This is my fault…" Mira mumbled sadly. "If I had been stronger… Natsu would be…"

"Nee-Chan, if it's anyone's fault its mine!" Elfman retorted. "I'm the one who… hurt you all…"

"Enough of this." Makarov interrupted the siblings' self-deprecation, with a stern look on his face. "Natsu would never blame any of you for what happened that night; you give him too little credit."

"I know… He told me that once, a long time ago now." Mira confirmed sadly. "But if it was true… why does he act this way? He puts a face on for almost everything. And… it hurts… it hurts to see that. Not even Levy or Lisanna have ever gotten through to him, he just pushes everyone away."

"You were once the same Mira… At least until Natsu came back, you never once smiled, not a real one anyway… It pained everyone to see you hurting inside, none more so than me. I consider everyone my family; I can't bear to see them suffer." Makarov spoke softly, recalling some of his more painful memories of the last few years. It hadn't been easy to pull everyone together after Natsu had supposedly died, but he worked hard to get his family through the difficult times.

Mira nodded silently at this, before seeing Natsu return from the basement carrying two large barrels of 'Cana' beer. "Well I should get back to work." She looked at Elfman and Makarov kindly, before hurrying off to deal with Natsu.

Makarov sighed. "Well I should go catch up on the paperwork. Keep an eye on your sister for me… She seems to be upset with recent events, even if she doesn't show it."

Makarov didn't wait for an answer before hopping off his chair and heading upstairs to his office. Elfman was left behind, musing. He knew his older sister well, and it pained him inside whenever he saw that fake smile she had perfected so well. Her eyes never smiled along with it, which was the giveaway. Elfman couldn't help but feel powerless when it came to making his sister happy. He had always caught glimpses of the truly happy Mira when she talked to Natsu, but it came and went, like leaves in the wind. How one person could cause his sister both pain and happiness, he could never understand. Not even Elfman could talk to Natsu; it was like talking to a statue at times. The look in his eyes always sent a chill down his spine; it was almost soulless at times. Elfman could think of nothing that could cause this, the Natsu he had always known was full of life and a fiercely loyal to his friends, this Natsu just didn't seem to care one way or the other. Someday, he thought, Natsu would return to them, and everything would be well. It was testament to his personality, that one person could affect the state of everyone around him.

Several hours had passed since the talk earlier. Cana had finally staggered home; a short while after everyone had left to take care of their personal lives. Makarov was still working through stacks of papers in his office, leaving Mira and Natsu in the guild. Natsu often stayed late since he had returned, not to mention arriving early in the morning. He usually sat at the bar drinking quietly throughout the day, a far cry from the impatient person he had been before. These days, he was always melancholy and inactive.

Mira was always the last to leave before Makarov, usually after cleaning up the guild when everyone had left. Sometimes her sister Lisanna stayed and helped, but Mira always tried to dissuade anyone from helping her, she preferred to be left to her own thoughts at the end of a long day of dealing with rowdy guild members and confirming job requests. She often tried talking to Natsu before he left, but he always turned down this offer of conversation and brushed her off, he was uncomfortable with any form of extended conversation, no matter who it was. He tended to avoid talking to people if he could, he was very guarded.

Tonight was an unusual exception though.

Natsu had been acting strangely since he had collected the barrels from the basement earlier; he seemed worried and had relocated himself to a corner of the room for the remainder of the day. Mira had picked up on this and stopped cleaning. She made up her mind and decided to see what was bothering Natsu quite this much.

Natsu could see Mira coming over to talk to him, with a slightly concerned look on her face. "Mira." he murmured, acknowledging her, and as an extension, allowing her to talk to him.

"Natsu." she spoke softly. "You seem… disturbed for some reason. Is everything ok?"

"Not entirely." he replied succinctly. "I need to talk to you about earlier."

Mira's eyes widened slightly when she realised what Natsu meant by earlier. "You mean… you heard what the master and Elfman were talking about?"

"Yes. I have good hearing." He replied. "I'm more concerned about what you said though."

"What I said?" Mira questioned him, frowning slightly.

"Did you not believe me when I told you it wasn't your fault?" Natsu asked, a shadow of concern passing his face for a moment.

"But it is! I…" Mira began before Natsu cut in.

"Stop that. It was never your fault. I did what I did for a reason, but obviously, you still can't accept what I told you all that time ago." Natsu kept his voice level as he spoke to Mira, trying to get her to accept what she had never been able to.

"I am not the person I am today because of that mission. That mission is not the reason for my state of being. You need to accept this one day." Natsu continued. He fell silent for a moment, studying Mira's reaction to his statement before adding, "I told you once, I've seen more than most would ever see in their lifetimes. Nobody can help me to deal with what I have to, and it's time you accept this."

"And no, I will not tell you what happened, that is for me alone to be concerned with." he interrupted Mira before she could speak. "It's time you moved on. Elfman and Lisanna are dealing with it, but you are avoiding the problem. It would make everyone happier if you could do that. I might not show it anymore, but I still care about my friends' happiness. You will never be happy if you continue this way."

Mira bristled slightly with anger after he had finished, before shouting after Natsu who was now heading out. "How can I move on, when you can't do it!? You're a hypocrite!"

Natsu's voice rose as he spoke to her without looking back. "Maybe so, but what I said was the truth." _Sometimes you have to cause harm before you can do good…_ he thought to himself. _She'll understand someday._

The next day, it seemed like business as usual for the Fairy Tail guild, but there were a few noticeable differences. First of all, some of the guild members had noticed that Natsu and Mira had avoided talking to each other as much as they could, Mira seeming slightly upset, while Natsu was being his usual self, e.g. the guy who just sat around not doing anything. When asked if she was ok, Mira would brush it off and claim she was absolutely fine. Nobody really spoke to Natsu if they could help it; they probably understood they weren't going to get answers that way.

Elfman and Lisanna were increasingly concerned with how Mira was acting; she seemed to be prone to anger more than she usually was. It wasn't hard to figure out who was the reason behind her behaviour.

They had tried to get some information out of Natsu, Mira was never going to say anything to them, but all they got from him was, "I told her what she had to hear." and then he clammed up tight, despite Elfman getting angry at him and causing Lisanna to drag him away before he did something stupid to fulfil his pride as man.

Lucy and Gray had come back today, after completing their job and decided to form a team, reluctantly allowing Happy to join as well. However, they had yet to pick another job, and the usually helpful Mira was not the helpful Mira today. Levy had gotten to know Lucy better during the day, having bonded over the love of books, and Lucy's novel, as well as berating Gray for his stripping. Lisanna had convinced Elfman to join the team as well, if only to take care of Happy for her. Elfman simply couldn't refuse her, his sisters being a big weakness for him. Gray was perfectly fine with this, he had often done missions with Elfman before.

The following day, Mira seemed to have calmed down, and the mood in the guild had lightened up considerably. She was happily conversing with the guild members throughout the day and was now taking over from Makarov to accepting job requests, because he had to attend the regular meeting between guild masters at Clover Town.

Unusually, Natsu had a notebook out, and was writing down some things, though no one was going to ask what he was doing. Mira had decided to leave Natsu be, he was completely oblivious to anything in the guild, and had a blank look on his face.

_'So, to what do I owe the pleasure?'_

_'Aw, Natsu-san is always so polite to me. I'm glad you remember me, it's been nearly two years since we last had a chat.'_ The soft voice he had once heard after dealing with the wreckage of the Strauss siblings' mission with The Beast. He knew who the person was now, but he still felt that prickly irritation when she spoke to him uninvited.

_'Well as you probably remember mostly everything by now, I should ask how you're dealing with it.'_

_'I suppose you have every right to be concerned. After all, you made me remember all of it. Every last damn detail.'_ Natsu's inner voice hissed slightly.

_'Don't get mad at me dear, you know I only did what you asked in as painless a way as I could manage. Just tell me how everything is going, I have things to talk to you about, and I want to get the pleasantries out of the way.' _she said briskly.

_'Considering everything, I'm surprised I'm still sane. I should thank you for not throwing everything at me in one go I guess. I'm managing fine, but it's… difficult to come to terms with.' _Natsu replied softly.

_'I'm glad. You seem to have handled this much better than any time previously. Last time, you really hurt my feelings' _she sniffled.

_'Yes well, what did you want this time?' _Natsu queried.

_'Well… How should I put this? It concerns that man, as it always seems to.' _She replied mumbling slightly.

_'What does it have to do with him?' _Natsu visibly frowned, before questioning her.

_'It's one of his demons you know. I was snooping around in a nearby town, when I picked up on some chatter. '_

_'I hope you didn't get seen…' _Natsu grumbled.

_'You know I didn't silly. What do you take me for?' she replied frustrated. 'Anyway, this dark wizard claimed he had found Lullaby. I confirmed this for myself, but of course I didn't want to get too close to that thing, it's especially dangerous to me.'_

_'Well shit. It's definitely Lullaby?' _Natsu asked shocked.

_'Language! And I'm afraid so Natsu-san.'_

_'Don't lecture me please. Anything else you can tell me? Will I be forced to deal with this, or is the seal still active?' _Natsu queried her again.

_'I'm afraid they will be able to dispel that seal. You'll have to shake off the rust, because you will definitely have to use a bit of magic if Lullaby wakes up. All these years later, and his cursed demons are still causing trouble.' _she affirmed sadly.

Natsu sighed, earning a few looks from some people in the guild, but they went back to their business shortly after._ 'That's very risky for me. Surely you understand why?'_

_'You will have to risk it if Lullaby is freed. The only way to get some control over your magic is through using it, I know you hate harming anybody, but even if the risk is there, you must use your magic eventually.' _she implored.

_'What do these people want with Lullaby anyway; I should probably know if I'm going to deal with them.' _Natsu asked.

_'I'm not sure about that, but give me a little time; I'll do my best to get you the information you need. And… why are you writing this stuff down? You know you'll remember this perfectly.' _She asked him slightly surprised.

_'If I ever get asked about where I got my information, I can claim anonymous sources, and having written it down, it'll be easier than claiming I heard it from you. Especially you actually.' _He replied quickly.

_'Ah. I might have enjoyed watching you squirm, but I suppose that is prudent. Well, I shall speak to you tomorrow at the latest. Until next time Natsu-san' _she giggled, before cutting off communications.

_Curse that woman. She'll drive me mad someday, I swear. And now I have to deal with the damage he's caused. This job is annoying._

* * *

**_The next day…_**

"Ugh. I can't find anything I can do!" Lucy cried, having scanned the request board, was now complaining to Mira.

"Well let me know if you do find anything, I'll be handling the requests since the master has gone to the regular meeting." Mira replied to her smiling.

"If Gray hadn't made me give up on two million jewels, I'd be fine right now!" she growled before glaring at Gray, who was now naked.

"Gray! Your clothes!" she yelled.

The ice wizard looked down and saw that everything except for his boxers, "WAAHHH! Why does this keep happening!?" Before Gray could rush off to find his clothes, the entrance door slammed open.

"Gray, we got trouble!" Everyone looked to see a scared Loki, trembling and sweating as he stood at the door. "Erza…she's back." Almost everyone froze after he said that, before long they started to panic a little; Gray had a scared look on his face. _"MY CLOTHES, SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME FIND MY CLOTHES!"_

"L-Loki, are you s-sure it was Erza?" Someone asked fearfully.

"Of course I'm sure!" Loki shouted back.

"Who's Erza?" Lucy asked, surprised to see the guild almost in hysterics.

"She's the strongest female wizard in this guild, Erza Scarlet. Some people call her Titania." Mira answered for her.

"Titania?" Lucy frowned. "Oh I've heard of her!" she exclaimed. "But why is everyone so afraid?"

"Well… She's horribly strong, and tends to deal out physical punishment, so everyone fears her." Mira replied.

"Natsu doesn't seem bothered." Lucy pointed out.

"Well, he used to be scared of her too, but a lot's happened since then." Mira explained with a tense look on her face.

However, Natsu wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him; he was having a conversation of another kind.

_'So the dark guild behind this is Eisenwald?'_ he asked.

_'Yes. Erigor was mentioned by several members. They seem to be ready to move out tomorrow, Oshibana station was mentioned. They only seem to be after the flute for the purpose of killing, I doubt they have any idea of its true nature.'_ After this was mentioned, he decided on a plan of action.

_'Ok. So I'll take the train down to Oshibana tonight, I want to be ready for when they make their move. Keep me updated when you can. We should limit our contact during the mission; we don't want Lullaby picking this up.'_

_'As you wish Natsu-san. I'll take my leave now.' _she replied.

Suddenly the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard in the now silent guild, drawing Natsu's attention as well.

"Those sound like her footsteps." Wakaba whispered, biting down on his smoke pipe.

"Erza's back." Macao said.

Everyone watched in fear as they could see Erza wearing her custom made Heart Kreuz armor with a blue skirt and black boots walk into the guild house with her bright scarlet hair, carrying a giant horn with one hand. When she made it inside, she put it on the ground, causing a loud crash to resound throughout the guild.

"I have returned." Erza said before looking around momentarily. "Where is Master Makarov?"

"Welcome back Erza," Mirajane replied with a smile, "The master left last night for the regular meeting. He should be back by tomorrow evening if things go smoothly."

"I see." she responded briskly.

"So what is this, Erza?" Erza looked back at the man who asked that before replying.

"It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The local people were nice enough to decorate it to show their gratitude." She answered before giving him a questioning look. "It's not a problem, is it?

"No, not at all!" He and a few others replied with scared voices.

"I bet she's heard about what happened at Mt. Hakobe. You know, how Natsu saved your butt." Cana whispered to Macao, who started to sweat after he heard that.

"…I'm screwed."

A few moments of silence followed, while everyone waited for Erza to speak again, slightly fearful looks apparent on many faces.

"Now listen up!" Erza narrowed her eyes as she glared at everyone in the building, causing them to freeze up at her voice. "During the time I was on the road, I've been hearing that Fairy Tail has been causing trouble again." she said sternly, making everyone wince. "While the master may not care, I do!"

_Here goes…_ Many people now thought, as Erza turned to look at Cana who was drinking out of one of her barrels.

"Cana," The brunette froze at Erza's voice, "If you're going to be drinking, don't do it with such an inappropriate posture." She said making Cana nod quickly and move her legs into a better position.

"Vijeeter!"

"Yes ma'am?!" The scared dancer replied.

"Take the dancing outside." Erza ordered without looking at him, she turned to Wakaba next. "Wakaba, get rid of that filthy habit!" The older mage let his head drop to the table. "Nab," She began, making the man stumble while he stood next to the request board. "I had a feeling I would find you there like always. Just pick a job already!"

Lucy looked on at the scene in shock, before Erza continued.

"Macao!" She stared at the blue haired man with a stern gaze for a few moments before sighing deeply.

"Please just say something!" He whimpered as Erza ignored him and walked over to Mira.

"Everyone keeps causing me so much trouble." She started to say as she walked over, "But since I'm in a good mood, I'll be nice and say nothing for today."

"But she already said so much." Lucy whispered to Happy. "She's like a disciplinary enforcer, is she always like this?"

"Uh-huh, that's Erza for you." Happy replied.

"Is Gray here?" Erza questioned, to which a few of the other wizards pointed at a scared Gray; who was in his boxers.

"H-Hey Erza, what's up?" Gray asked trembling.

Erza looked down for a second before speaking, "I have a favor to ask of you. I heard something troubling while I was on my last job. Normally I would consult the master first about something like this, but since he's out right now I'm going to have to go with the best option. I may need your help with this."

"Wha…" Gray stared at Erza in surprise.

Everyone was shock on what Erza asked; they knew that Erza was a formidable wizard. But for something to be so bad that she would ask Gray for assistance, it was scary to think about what it could be. While murmurs spread through the guild Natsu had his own thoughts.

_I wonder if this has anything to do with Eisenwald… I should avoid asking about it, I already have a plan to deal with it anyway._

"We will be leaving tomorrow morning." Erza stated, "After we meet at the train station, I'll fill you in on the details."

"Hold on! I never said-" Gray tried to speak, before Erza ignored him and spoke to Mira.

"The usual please." she stated.

"Ok, one strawberry cake coming up!" Mira replied with a smile, before whispering to Lucy. "I'd get out of the way for now; she's going to talk to Natsu soon."

Lucy glanced at the slightly fearful look in Mira's face, before hurrying off quickly. _This probably isn't good._

After polishing off several slices of her favourite cake, she turned to Natsu; causing the guild to go silent once more, the last 'talk' between these two had caused Erza to turn unusually violent, causing her to destroy most of the immediate area. The mood between the two of them had always been tense since they had first seen each other again. It didn't help that Natsu refused to answer Erza's questions on what he had been doing, especially since she did not like her questions going unanswered by anyone.

"I need to talk with you." she said sternly.

Natsu simply sat in silence, unmoving, before Erza spoke again. "When are you going on a mission?"

"We'll talk in private." he answered sharply.

This was the cue for everyone to leg it out of the guild, if they were going to get into a fight, no one wanted to get caught up in it.

Soon after, only Natsu, Erza and a very anxious Mira were left behind.

"I won't be taking a mission." he stated.

"Didn't you help Macao with his mission?" Erza frowned.

"No." Natsu said sharply.

"E-Erza… he only went to go rescue him." interjected a nervous Mira.

"I see." She replied.

"Well… Can I convince you to come help me? I could use your help with this." Erza asked.

"I won't be here." was the short reply.

This was a surprise to both Erza and Mira. He never usually left Magnolia anymore, the only exception being a short trip to Port Hargeon a week or so back. He hadn't said why he was going; only that he was, and he'd be back soon. Mira had learnt a little about what he had supposedly done there, but Natsu had stated that he hadn't gone to deal with Bora; he was merely in the way.

"Well why?" Erza asked with a slight edge to her voice.

"None of your business." He replied.

This caused Erza to hiss slightly with anger, but she refrained from reacting much more. "Well fine. You may regret it if one of us doesn't come back." This caused Mira to gasp in shock at what Erza was implying, but Natsu showed no acknowledgement to this statement.

"Well, I need to go home and prepare for tomorrow. Goodbye Mira. Natsu." Erza stated, before leaving.

Mira watched her leave with a frown on her face.

"Natsu. When are you two going to sort this out?" she asked.

"That depends entirely on her actions. I don't like being forced to feel guilty over refusing to help." He replied, barely keeping the anger out of his voice. "She has to respect my choices."

"That may be, but she's only trying to get you to work again. You understand that right?" Mira asked him sadly.

"I understand enough." He replied. "Anyway, I won't be here. That wasn't an excuse."

"I don't suppose…" Mira began, but Natsu interrupted.

"I'm going to Oshibana." He said. "I'll give you these two calling cards; you can contact me if you _have_ to. Give the other to Erza, though I may regret that."

He handed her two cards adorned with a red dragon on the face, wreathed in a rainbow of flames, before heading out.

"I'm catching the train tonight, take care." He said softly as he walked out.

Mira stood there looking out the exit with a wistful look. _I know he still has a caring side somewhere in there… I just hope he'll show it before it's too late, rather than acting this way. Guess I'll give Erza this card when I go home._

* * *

**Okay, okay. Unusual chapter maybe, but it covers three characters in more detail (excluding some of the Natsu background stuff) wasn't too much Erza in this one, but there will be more next time. This one was mainly Mira, but don't mistake it for a romantic kind of thing, I haven't really written much into the romance side for any character at all so far, and that's being very honest.**

**Please leave a review on the writing style or something, the story is progressing the way I want it to, but I would like feedback on how it 'sounds' so far.**

**Please enjoy, until next time.**


	13. Stalking a Melody

**Chapter Thirteen : Stalking a Melody**

* * *

**_Outside Oshibana Town…_**

In the forest, there was a small encampment where the members of Eisenwald were located. Many wizards were lured to dark guilds, by the promise of power and revenge. Eisenwald was one such dark guild. Most of the members specialised in assassination missions, none more so than the 'Shinigami Erigor' a feared name throughout most of Fiore. He only took the biggest assassination missions he could find, to satisfy his thirst for blood.

"Which guild was that woman from?" a man with a black cloak called out.

"Ah, I dunno, you couldn't see the guild mark under all that armour." Another called out.

"She was gorgeous though… I shoulda made a move on her!" a short, fat green haired man yelled frustratedly.

"Like you'd have a chance with a babe like that Karacka!" cackled another person.

"What did you say!?" he yelled back.

Their attention was diverted by a tattooed man sat against a tree with a large scythe resting on his shoulder. He was a tall, lean but slightly muscular man, with silver hair and dark eyes. He was known as the Ace of Eisenwald, Shinigami Erigor.

"Is Kageyama back yet? He seems to be taking a long time…"

"Can't be helped Erigor, breaking the seal on that thing takes time." Karacka replied to him.

"Well… This is a perfect chance, we must make our move tomorrow, all those old folk will be in one place. We'll crush them all at once." Erigor smirked, a smirk that was quickly returned by the rest of Eisenwald, they'd been waiting for their chance to cripple the guilds, and they now had the means to do it.

Unnoticed by Eisenwald though, was a black cloaked figure, sitting silently in the dark shadow of tree branches close to their encampment, with a watchful pair of onyx eyes, watching their every movement.

_'Seen enough Natsu-san?'_ chirped the ever so familiar voice in his mind.

_'Yes. I know exactly what they're planning now. Those old folk can only mean the guild masters in Clover Town. If Lullaby was already here, I could have dealt with this quickly. And now I'm convinced Erza was talking about these creeps, though she didn't say what she was going to be doing.'_ Natsu summed up.

_'What are you going to do now?'_ she asked.

_'I'm going to follow Erigor for now… If I lose him, I'll just wait near the meeting place in Clover Town and deal with Lullaby there.'_ he replied. _'Also… I'm going to ask you to keep an eye on Erza, and whoever she's with. I'll need to know if I have to step in somewhere, though I hope she doesn't get in my damn way.'_

_'Ever thoughtful aren't you? Spying is a boring job; you'll have to give me a raise sometime.' _she giggled.

_'Considering you don't technically exist, I'm not sure how that would work.'_ he replied dully. _'Just keep your eyes open for me.'_

_'Aw boo… You're really no fun at all sometimes Natsu-san' _she complained, before leaving Natsu to his own devices.

_Alright. Time to watch closely, I can't afford to lose track of where Lullaby will be headed._

* * *

**_Magnolia Station – Morning…_**

"What the heck could Erza need me for!?" complained an annoyed Gray. "And why are you three here!?" pointing at Happy, Elfman and Lucy.

"Mirajane made us both come…" Lucy grumbled. "And Lisanna just had to make Happy come along as well…" She was obviously not pleased to have to deal with Happy, something about that cat just got to her.

Gray sighed. "Fine."

"Mira nee-chan told me to bring this card to Erza and give her a message as well, because it's Manly!" or something along those lines came from the strange Elfman, whilst brandishing his fist to the skies.

Lucy and Gray sweat dropped at his statement, looking at him incredulously.

"Sorry for the wait, have you been here long?" Erza's voice called out to them.

"Not really- "Lucy began, before stopping dead after seeing Erza dragging a wagon full of suitcases behind her. It looked almost like a mountain of stuff.

_"-THAT'S A LOT OF LUGGAGE!"_ she continued exclaiming in shock.

"Ah, Elfman, Happy, what are you two doing here?" she queried them with eyebrow raised.

"Mirajane." Elfman replied, while Happy said "Lisanna told me to look after Elfman and Lucy for her!"

"I see. You're Lucy? I saw you yesterday didn't I?" she spoke, gesturing to the blonde.

"Y-Yes." Lucy replied stuttering slightly.

"Well, I've heard good things, especially about how you beat up all those Vulcans. You can come along. I could use all the capable help I can get; it's a risky job…" Erza spoke, contemplatively.

"R-Risky…?" Lucy spoke, her voice barely audible. She trembled slightly, already regretting having come along.

"Erza. Mira nee-chan told me to give you this card. She also said 'he' would be in Oshibana, but didn't tell me who it was…" Elfman spoke, handing a card with a dragon insignia surrounded by a rainbow of flames.

"What is that card?" Lucy asked quizzically.

Erza sighed as she looked at it. "It's a contact card. You activate it to talk to the person who created it. You can contact them from anywhere. I don't want to have to use this one if I can help it though…"

Elfman looked confused before asking, "Who does this card contact?"

Erza grumbled for a moment before replying. "This is to contact Natsu."

"He probably doesn't even want to be contacted, just gave it to Mira as an afterthought." She continued.

"Yeah well, we won't need it." growled Gray, who was now in his boxers.

"Clothes Gray…" Erza glared at him, causing him to squeak in fear and tremble while he began to look for his clothes.

After Gray finally collected his clothes, which incidentally drew a large crowd, the group finally set off on the train. The trip was mostly silent, which caused Lucy to feel rather uneasy. Even the hyperactive Happy had settled down.

In order to relieve the tension, Lucy attempted to make conversation.

"So Erza… what magic do you use?" Lucy asked looking at the scarlet haired wizard across from her.

"That seems to be a rather random question Lucy." as she turned from looking out the window, to focus her attention on the blonde.

"I'm kind of curious, there's never any information on you in Sorcerer's Weekly." she confessed. "I've only seen you in it once, and that was a photo shoot with Mira."

"Ah well, it's not my thing, I was only filling in because the woman shooting with Mira had other things to do." Erza blushed slightly as she recalled the photo-shoot. "It was interesting, but something I would rather not repeat. It makes me feel awkward."

"I see, that's a shame, you're so beautiful." Lucy complimented her.

Erza almost looked like a fish gasping for air for a moment, before Happy interrupted, "Erza's magic is really beautiful! It makes enemies bleed a lot."

Lucy flinched at that, it sounded quite scary.

"It's not that great. Gray's magic is more beautiful than mine." Erza added.

"Ah yeah, he can make anything he wants out of ice." Lucy nodded. "It's really good."

Gray raised an eyebrow at the two's conversation. "Thanks for the compliment?" he added quizzicaly.

"Elfman here uses take over magic, it's impressive."Gray added.

"Ah yeah, I've seen him using these weird arms before." Lucy nodded.

"Take over magic is man!" Elfman yelled.

Erza glared at him, effectively shutting him up before he could further embarrass himself. The group faded back into silence, before the train reached a checkpoint. Lucy managed to get a discount on the food using her 'sexy body' which Happy inadvertently insulted, causing him to suffer from a well-placed fist. After finishing up their meals, the train had been travelling for a while before Gray decided to ask Erza about the emergency mission they were doing.

"We're going up against the dark guild, Eisenwald." Erza stated before eating a piece of her strawberry cake. "It happened while I was returning from my last job; I stopped by a bar to get something to drink and overheard a group of thugs talking. I don't know what they were talking about exactly, but I did overhear a name." Erza explained.

"A name?" Gray raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Erigor." she answered, causing Gray and Elfman to look at her in surprise.

"Definitely Erigor?" asked Elfman.

"Shinigami Erigor?" added Gray.

"S-Sh-Shinigami?" Happy and Lucy both stuttered with fear in their voice.

"It's a name that was given to him because he always took on assassination missions. The Magic Council prohibits wizards from taking on such missions, but Erigor chose money over the rules." Erza explained. "Because he and his guild disobeyed the council, they were kicked out of the magic league and supposedly disbanded, but they are still around…as a dark guild it seems."

"Never mind that; what was it that made them our target, was it something else you heard?" Gray asked with a curious tone.

"Yes, I had heard them talking about a magical item called Lullaby and how they were having trouble getting possession of it because it was sealed. At first I was thinking about how it might have just been a mission they might have taken even though they are no longer an official guild. But on my way back I remembered who Erigor was and suspected that if he was involved in this, then we need to strike fast." After Erza finished explaining the situation, Gray decided to speak.

"So that's why you wanted me on this mission, even if you could defeat the guild, it might be a completely different story if this Lullaby turns out to be an extremely dangerous item." he deduced making Erza nod her head.

"If it required a powerful seal to keep it contained, then the thing must be powerful." Elfman added while crossing his arms.

"Correct, which is why we're going to find Eisenwald, defeat anyone who gets in our way and take this Lullaby before they can use it." Erza said as the train drew closer to their destination.

"…Maybe I shouldn't have come along…" Lucy muttered, shivering slightly.

"…I agree this time…" Happy added, also quivering with fear.

The train started to come to a halt when it reached the station. "So we'll find out where the guild is and plan our attack." Erza said as everyone was getting ready to depart. Unfortunately, Gray realised his clothes had yet again disappeared, and began searching the train for them.

While following Erza and Elfman, Lucy noticed something seemed to be missing.

"Where's Gray?" catching their attention.

"He must still be on the train!" Erza exclaimed.

* * *

**_On the train…_**

Gray had just found the rest of his clothes, before the train started moving again. Realising he was stuck until they reached the next station, he sat down on an empty seat frustrated.

"Excuse me sir? Is this seat taken?" Gray looked up slightly and saw a man with a spiky ponytail.

"Nah, go ahead." He replied, motioning him to take a seat.

The man smiled before sitting down. "You seem to be missing some clothes." He frowned slightly.

"Ack! Not again!" Gray exclaimed, looking around frantically for them.

"Uh…" The man's eyes drifted down a little and saw Gray's guild mark. "So you're from Fairy Tail, huh? I envy you, being in a normal guild." He finished with a smile.

"Uh?" Gray looked at him quizzically having just found his clothes.

* * *

**_Back at the station…_**

"...and that's why you need to stop the train." As soon as the group made it to the control room, Erza started explaining the situation to the employee.

"Does everyone from Fairy Tail act like this?" Lucy asked Elfman as they watched Erza talk to the employee in charge.

"Fairy Tail is manly!" was all he had to say.

"So, please! This is for our friend, you have to understand!" Erza finished with a demanding tone.

"Are you crazy!?" The employee shouted at Erza. "We can't just stop the train because one person asks us to, no matter who is still on it!" Erza turned her head away with a "tch"; looking behind the man, she noticed a lever behind the employee with the words 'Emergency Stop' underneath it.

*Bam*

It happened in an instant. Erza head-butted the poor employee in the face, knocking him out cold before stepping over him and pulling the Emergency Lever.

An alarm started to ring and its sound carried throughout the train station, alerting all those who were at the station.

"Huh? What happened?"

"An accident?"

Lucy and Elfman both looked horrified at what they had just seen. Elfman seemed to shrink slightly; as if afraid he might be next.

"Alright let's go!" Erza told the three, and they nodded their heads quickly, still intimidated by what she had just done.

* * *

**_On the train…_**

"Speaking of Fairy Tail...Mirajane's famous, isn't she? She's in magazines sometimes, right? She's also beautiful."

Gray let out a grunt out of slight annoyance. The man who sat in front of him continued to talk to him. _I can't believe I'm listening to this pervert, _Gray thought.

"I wonder why she's not active anymore. She's still so young." He continued. "She was as strong as that other beauty you guys have, Erza. I've heard she's a real looker."

_This guy is getting on my nerves…_ Gray mentally hissed.

"I also hear you guys had another beautiful girl join your guild recently. I wonder what her name is… Do you know her?" Gray let out another groan as he clenched his fists slightly. The man paused and Gray hoped he was done talking, but unfortunately he wasn't finished.

"I envy your guild. There are so many beautiful girls. My guild doesn't have many girls like yours." He then looked at Gray with a creepy smile that aggravated Gray even more. "Would you please share some? I promise that my fellow guild members and I would treat them nicely."

*WHAM*

Gray's face was slammed into by a sudden kick from the perverted man.

"Don't act all high and mighty because you're in a legal guild. You guys are like nothing but harmless little flies to me and my guild, Eisenwald." He said smirking, while Gray got up onto his feet… before stripping his top off.

The distraction caused by this was time enough for Gray to slam a right hook into the man's face. He was sent reeling, before recovering his balance. The shadows around him seem to grow and twist, as a slightly disturbing grin formed on his face.

Gray wasn't impressed.

"Shadow Magic huh? That's cliché for a bad guy like you." He said with slight disdain in his voice.

A small twitch of the man's eyebrow was all that indicated his displeasure.

"Really? Well try this on for size! **Knuckle Shadow!**" he roared out.

He stamped his foot into the ground before several fists made of shadows burst out and struck at Gray.

"**Ice Make : Shield!**" Gray countered by blocking the fists with a tall semi-circular shield of ice.

Before either could begin another attack, a sudden blast of wind cut through the train, separating the two feuding mages.

The man smirked, before calling out to Gray, who was now stuck on the other side of the train, no longer being pulled along. "Well tough luck to you! Erigor-sama has come to get me!"

Gray growled at his misfortune, before notcing a car racing alongside the now slowing down part of the train.

"I'll catch up with that asshole later." He murmured, before leaping off the train and into the car.

A sudden girlish scream was heard, before the sound of a slap cut through it like a knife.

Yeah, Gray just landed face-first into Lucy's assets.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_**

A hooded figure sneaks into a train station…

* * *

**NOTES**

**So yeah, I've kept you waiting far too long. Next part will finish the 'Lullaby' Arc, and its full of action and cool things involving a certain salmon guy. Sorry to leave this on a cliffhanger like that, but oh well.**

**Until next time!**

**Next chapter is called : Salamander's Requiem**

**(Since its only fair I give you something extra to thank my followers for your patience - I won't spoil the plot though!)**


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